Konishiki Yasokichi

His stablemaster, the 46th Yokozuna Asashio Tarō III, had predicted Konishiki would reach the top rank by his 25th birthday.

However, his increasing weight caused a strain on his knee, exacerbated by previous high-school football injuries, which badly affected his performances.

Saleva'a Fuauli Atisano'e (born December 31, 1963), better known by his stage name, Konishiki Yasokichi (小錦八十吉), is an American-born Japanese former professional sumo wrestler.

He was the first non-Japanese-born wrestler to reach ōzeki, the second-highest possible rank in the sport.

During his career he won the top division championship on three occasions and came very close to becoming the first foreign-born grand champion, or Yokozuna, prompting a social debate in Japan as to whether a foreigner could have the necessary cultural understanding to be deemed acceptable in sumo's ultimate rank.

At a peak weight of 287 kg he was also at the time the heaviest wrestler ever in sumo, earning him the nicknames, "Meat Bomb" and, most famously, "The Dump Truck".

Playing truant from school one day, Yasokichi, already 170kg at the age of 18, was spotted on the beach in Hawaii by a sumo talent scout and was offered the chance to go to Japan to train.

He was the first foreigner to win a top division title since Takamiyama in 1972.

He entered sumo in July 1982, recruited by another Hawaiian-born wrestler, Takamiyama of the Takasago stable.

A promising student at the University High School in Honolulu, he initially wanted to be a lawyer and was also offered a music scholarship to Syracuse University.

His father had regular work with the US Navy but had to support eight children.

Yasokichi regarded Takamiyama as a local hero and found the opportunity to travel to Japan too good to resist, although his parents were reluctant for him to do so.

He made his debut in the top makuuchi division in July 1984, and in the following tournament in September he defeated two Yokozuna, Chiyonofuji and Takanosato, and was runner-up with a 12–3 record.

He was promoted to komusubi for the first time in May 1985 and sekiwake in July 1985.

However, he suffered an injury to his coccyx (caused by a stool collapsing underneath him) and had to sit out all the next tournament.

In May 1986 he suffered another injury, this time in competition, during a bout with Futahaguro.

Konishiki came back strongly from this setback and three consecutive double figure scores in 1987 earned him promotion to ōzeki.

Many people expected Konishiki to quickly make his push for Yokozuna promotion.

After a string of mediocre 8–7 scores he turned in a disastrous 3–12 in September 1988.

His problems continued in 1989 and a 5–10 mark in September left him in danger of demotion from ōzeki once again.

He made a spectacular comeback in November 1989, taking his first tournament championship with a 14–1 record.

In March 1990 he took part in a three-way playoff for the title but he was outshone by Asahifuji, who earned promotion to Yokozuna in July.

In May 1991 Konishiki won 14 consecutive bouts but was beaten in a playoff on the final day by Asahifuji.

By late 1991 Konishiki was a strong Yokozuna candidate.

He had overcome his injuries and showed much more consistency.

Yokozuna Chiyonofuji and Ōnokuni had both recently retired, and Asahifuji and Hokutoumi were struggling with illness and injury.

Konishiki took advantage by winning two championships (his 2nd and 3rd overall) in November 1991 and March 1992, with a record in the last three tournaments of 38 wins and 7 losses.

However, he was denied promotion to Yokozuna normally awarded to those with two consecutive tournament wins or an equivalent achievement (Konishiki had three non-consecutive wins), with the chairman of the Yokozuna Deliberation Committee, Hideo Ueda, announcing, "We wanted to make doubly sure that Konishiki is worthy to be a grand champion. Therefore, we decided to wait for another tournament."

Another member of the committee, Noboru Kojima, said in an interview in the April issue of Bungei Shunjū that Konishiki did not possess hinkaku, a word derived from hin meaning "grace, elegance and refinement".

His remarks were given the headline, "We Don’t Need a Foreign Yokozuna" in the magazine.

The controversy arose when The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that Konishiki in an interview had alleged racial discrimination was the reason for his being denied promotion.

The New York Times subsequently quoted Konishiki as saying, "If I were Japanese, I would be Yokozuna already."

The Japan Sumo Association demanded an apology.

Konishiki held a press conference during which he made his apology and tearfully denied making the remarks.

He insisted that The Nihon Keizai Shimbun had misinterpreted his remark, and that he had not spoken to The New York Times, and instead a Hawaiian apprentice Koryu had impersonated him on the telephone.

Despite the denial, the damage had been done.

The media furore hampered his preparations for the forthcoming tournament which resulted in a mediocre 9–6 record.

Due to his potential he was given the name Konishiki, after the 17th Yokozuna, Konishiki Yasokichi I (see List of Yokozuna) who came from the same training stable at the end of the 19th Century (during the Meiji period in Japan) and Konishiki Yasokichi II (a komusubi in the beginning of the 20th century).

Yasokichi was the sixth "Konishiki" in history, though he was the third to reach the top division.

He rose to the privileged sekitori ranks in just eight tournaments, a remarkably rapid rise.