Sumo wrestling gets its first Japanese grand champion in 7 years as 24-year-old Onosato reaches top rank

Tokyo — Japan has a new sumo grand champion — or yokozuna — and the big news is he's Japanese. Onosato, the new grand champion, weighs 421 pounds and he is the first Japanese competitor to reach the top rank since 2017. By comparison, the average weight of an NFL lineman is just over 300 pounds.

The sport has recently been dominated by Mongolians. Prior to Onosato, six of the previous seven yokozunas have been from Mongolia.

"I'll devote myself to training so that I will not disgrace the title of yokozuna," Onosato said Wednesday, dressed in a formal kimono and bowing as he sat on the floor. "I will aim to become a one-and-only yokozuna."