Terunofuji Haruo

Terunofuji Haruo (照ノ富士 春雄)), is a Mongolian-Japanese professional sumo wrestler. Wrestling for the Isegahama stable, he entered professional sumo in January 2011 and took the second division jūryō championship in his debut as a sekitori in September 2013. He took the top makuuchi division championship in May 2015, only 25 tournaments after his professional debut, which is the third-fastest behind Asashōryū and Takanohana's 23 tournaments. This earned him promotion to sumo's second-highest rank of ōzeki.

Terunofuji then suffered from knee injuries and other health problems.

From his first pro tournament in July 2011 he excelled, posting only three losses in three tournaments and spending only one tournament in each of the lower divisions of jonokuchi, jonidan and sandanme.

In his sandanme tournament in November 2011, he had a perfect 7–0 record and participated in a playoff for the championship, which he lost to the aforementioned Jōkōryū, then still known as Sakumayama.

From his third division makushita debut in January 2012, he had three consecutive 5–2 records before posting two consecutive losing tournaments in July and September 2012, the only two of his career up to that point.

He bounced back from this in the following November tournament, garnering a 4–3 record.

For the next four tournaments his success continued and he never had more than two losses in any tournament.

During the period, his stable closed, and he transferred to Isegahama stable.

He had become frustrated with a lack of training opportunities at the small Magaki stable, as with the ill health of his stablemaster and various scandals there were sometimes no other coaches or wrestlers present.

At Isegahama by contrast he was able to practice with many higher ranked wrestlers to improve his technique.

His 6–1 record at makushita 4 in July 2013 was enough to earn him promotion to the salaried ranks of jūryō in September 2013.

Upon entering jūryō he changed his shikona surname to Terunofuji, a combination of two former yokozuna, Terukuni and Asahifuji (his own stablemaster), and a reflection of the high expectations placed on him.

He took the jūryō championship in his debut tournament, beating future maegashira Kagamiō on the last day to even their records and forcing a playoff bout against Kagamiō, which he also won.

An 8–7 record in the following November tournament and a 12–3 record in the January 2014 tournament earned him promotion to the top makuuchi division in March 2014.

In his makuuchi division debut he had only a 2–7 record on the 9th day.

However, from then on he won six straight bouts in six days to pull out a kachi-koshi or winning tournament.

Then in the following May tournament he started out with an unpromising 4–6 record, but then won 5 straight to finish with a strong showing of 9–6.

Two tournaments later in the September 2014 tournament at maegashira 1 he was up against top notch competition, including several san'yaku or titled wrestlers, and he only managed to eke out a 6–9 record.

This was only his third make-koshi or losing record in a tournament in his career and his first in the salaried rank.

He only fell to maegashira 2 though, being helped by bad showings from several other wrestlers.

It was in this tournament in November 2014 that he truly began to show his mettle in the top division; after going only 4–6, he beat an ōzeki and two sekiwake in the last 5 days to pull off an 8–7.

He continued his rivalry with Ichinojō into the professional ranks, remarking in 2015, "What matters is who will make it to the ozeki rank first."

As a third year student, Gan-Erdene's team took the championship at a national inter-high school sumo tournament.

Upon graduating, he chose to turn professional and joined Magaki stable.

He entered the ring in the same tournament as soon to be well-known Chiyotairyū and Jōkōryū.

Upon entering he was given the shikona surname of Wakamishō (若三勝).

In January 2015, he defeated the ōzeki Gōeidō and Kisenosato, the sekiwake Aoiyama and both active komusubi on the way to an 8–7 record.

He was awarded the Fighting Spirit Prize, or kantosho, his first special prize.

He was promoted to the rank of sekiwake for the next tournament.

Surviving kadoban (in danger of demotion from the rank of ōzeki) on three previous occasions, he was finally demoted after the September 2017 tournament.

After a long injury layoff he fell to the second-lowest jonidan division in March 2019 and staged a successful comeback and returned to the makuuchi division the following year, the first wrestler to do so from such a low rank.

Terunofuji won his return tournament in the top division in July 2020.

He earned his second promotion to ōzeki following a third championship win in March 2021, which he immediately followed with another tournament championship in May 2021.

Following a runner-up performance in the July 2021 tournament, he was promoted to become the sport's 73rd yokozuna.

He acquired Japanese citizenship the following month, taking the name Seizan Suginomori (杉野森 正山).

Following the retirement of fellow Mongolian Hakuhō in September 2021, Terunofuji became the only active yokozuna.

Overall, he has nine top division championships, has been runner-up in seven tournaments, and has nine special prizes.

Sumo commentator John Gunning called Terunofuji's comeback "a tale unparalleled in sumo history."

In childhood, Gan-Erdene was coached in judo by Jigjidiin Mönkhbat, the father of yokozuna Hakuhō, but Mönkhbat saw in him a predisposition for sumo and helped arrange for him to move to Japan as a student at Tottori Jōhoku High School to join its well-known sumo program.

Future top division wrestler Ichinojō travelled with him and joined the same school.