Lady Sumo
Originally performed as a Shinto ritual to entertain the gods so they would bestow a good harvest, the game dates back well over a thousand years. It is a trial of strength in which 48 techniques may be used to throw an opponent off balance so that he steps out of the ring or falls to the ground. A match begins with a head-on collision, followed by a wild fit of shoving, lifting, throwing, tripping, slapping, yanking or any combination thereof. It is often over in less than 10 seconds but can last a minute or more.
An 18-year-old high school senior from Tottori, Yuka Ueta, was the strongest wrestler of the tournament. At 275 pounds, she plowed her way through five matches in the open weight class, dispatching each opponent within moments to earn her first gold medal in the senior group.
The sumo wrestler Miki Satoyama, right, threw her opponent during the heavyweight class of the Japan women's sumo championships in Sakai city, in southern Osaka on Oct. 3
SPORTS
In Sumo's Push for the Olympics, a Turn Away From Tradition
By DANIEL KRIEGER
Published: October 18, 2010
To get to the Olympic Games, the International Sumo Federation has thrown its weight behind a form of the game that would offend purists and surprise most everyone else: women's sumo.