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Chiyotaikai Ryūji (born April 29, 1976 as Ryūji Hiroshima in Chitose, Hokkaidō), is a Japanese former sumo wrestler. He made his professional debut in 1992 and reached the top ''makuuchi'' division in 1997. He held the second highest rank of ''ōzeki'' or champion for 65 consecutive tournaments from 1999 until 2009, making him the longest serving ''ōzeki'' in the modern era. He won three top division ''yūshō'' or tournament championships, and was a runner-up on seven other occasions. However, he also held the dubious record of being in danger of demotion from ''ōzeki'' fourteen times. He wrestled for Kokonoe stable until his retirement in January 2010 at the age of 33. ==Career== After his father's death, Chiyotaikai's family moved to Ōita, which is considered his hometown and listed as such on the ''banzuke'' ranking sheets. When he was eleven, his mother remarried, to a local businessman. (In May 2009, Chiyotaikai finally adopted his mother's remarried surname of Sudō as his own.) He was an enthusiastic player of baseball and soccer as well as martial arts. He excelled at karate, and in judo he came third in the All-Japan Middle School Judo Championships.〔 However, he also got into fights and petty crime as a member of a gang of youths. After graduating junior high school, he worked as a construction worker before he decided on his mother's prompting to apprentice himself to Kokonoe-oyakata, the former Chiyonofuji, the 58th ''Yokozuna'' and one of the strongest wrestlers in sumo history, who manages the Kokonoe stable.〔 Kokonoe initially refused the new wrestler because of his bleached hair and obliged him to get a haircut before allowing him to join.〔 Chiyotaikai was given his ''shikona'' (wrestler name) in honour of his stablemaster and joined professional sumo in November 1992 and became a ''sekitori'' in July 1995 upon entering the second highest ''jūryō'' division. He remained in ''jūryō'' for another two years, but after winning two ''jūryō'' championships in March and July 1997 he reached ''makuuchi'', the top division. In May 1998, Chiyotaikai was made ''komusubi'' and never left the ''san'yaku'' ranks after that. He won the prestigious Technique Prize three times that year. In January 1999, he won his first top division championship, defeating ''yokozuna'' Takanohana and Wakanohana on the last two days, and Wakanohana once again in a play-off. He had compiled a three tournament record of 32-13, and he was promoted to ''ōzeki'' after the tournament, the first newcomer to the rank since Musashimaru and Takanonami five years earlier. Even though he had to bow out from his very first tournament that he fought as an ''ōzeki'' in March 1999 after breaking his nose, he retained his rank until November 2009. In July 2007 he broke Takanohana Kenshi's record of fifty tournaments at ''ōzeki'' rank, which had stood for over 25 years, and extended his record to 65 consecutive tournaments. The reverse side of his longevity as an ''ōzeki'' was his inability to achieve promotion to ''yokozuna''. After his first tournament win he performed at a rather mediocre level for some time; his next big success being the near-winner in the January tournament of 2002, where he lost a playoff to fellow ''ōzeki'' Tochiazuma having led going into the final day. After finishing as runner-up in May 2002 he then won his second championship in the next tournament in Nagoya. His first title since becoming an ''ozeki'' was achieved losing just one match, his best ever result. However, he was able to win only ten bouts in the next tournament, and following injury problems it took him until March 2003 to achieve his third and final tournament victory. After finishing as a runner-up in July 2003, September 2003 and March 2004, he struggled again until the November 2005 tournament where he was runner-up for the sixth time. After another lean couple of years, in November 2007 he was the tournament co-leader until the 14th day when he lost to Hakuhō. He injured his elbow during this match and had to default on the final day. He was still troubled by the injury in the January 2008 tournament and withdrew after losing his first seven bouts. He was never again to produce a winning score in double figures. Chiyotaikai's 2-13 score in March 2009 was the worst record ever compiled by an ''ōzeki,'' and meant he was ''kadoban'' (in danger of demotion from ''ōzeki'' status) for a record thirteenth time in May. After bringing a 7-7 record into the final day's competition, he managed to win his last match and thereby return to full ''ōzeki'' status. He had been restricted by a left side ache and high blood sugar levels, and sat out the regional tour in April due to a fractured rib. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chiyotaikai Ryūji」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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