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Kaiō Hiroyuki (born 24 July 1972 as Hiroyuki Koga) is a former professional sumo wrestler from Nōgata, Fukuoka, Japan. He made his debut in 1988, reaching the top ''makuuchi'' division in 1993. He held the second highest rank of ''ōzeki'' or champion for eleven years from 2000 to 2011, and is the longest-serving ''ōzeki'' of all time in terms of number of tournaments fought. In his career he won five top division ''yūshō'' or tournament championships, the last coming in 2004. This is the modern record for someone who has not ultimately made the top rank of ''yokozuna.'' He was a runner-up in eleven other tournaments, and also won 15 ''sanshō'' or special prizes, the third highest ever. In November 2009 he broke the record previously held by Takamiyama for the most tournaments ranked in the top division, and in January 2010 he surpassed Chiyonofuji's record of most top division bouts won. In the May 2010 tournament he became the only wrestler besides Chiyonofuji to reach one thousand career wins, and he surpassed Chiyonofuji's career wins record of 1045 in July 2011. He retired in the same tournament to become a coach at Tomozuna stable under the elder name Asakayama.〔 ==Early career== Koga did karate for two years in elementary school, and judo in his second year of junior high school. He had not shown much interest in sumo but was asked by his parents to take part in sumo competitions. It was at one such competition in Fukuoka that he was spotted by the wrestler Kaiki, later Tomozuna Oyakata. After being introduced to him by a mutual acquaintance in Nōgata, the young Koga was recruited to Tomozuna stable upon graduation from junior high. Kaiki thought so highly of the apprentice that he promised Koga's parents that he would become a ''sekitori'' by the age of 20. However because the move had been set up by others around him, and he had not ever had the ambition to be a ''rikishi'' himself, Koga initially had doubts that he would be able to succeed in sumo.〔 He made his professional debut in March 1988, at the same time as former ''yokozuna'' Akebono, Takanohana and Wakanohana, who all made the top division faster than him but who had all retired by 2003. Initially fighting under his own surname, he reached the ''makushita'' division in September 1990 after winning the ''sandanme'' championship with a perfect 7-0 record. He won the ''makushita'' tournament in July 1991 and in November 1991, in his hometown tournament in Kyushu, he earned promotion to the ''sekitori'' ranks—a performance he later recalled as one of his most memorable ever.〔 Upon making his debut in second highest ''jūryō'' division in January 1992 he adopted the ''shikona'' of Kaiō. After a few injury problems he worked his way up the ''jūryō'' division and reached the top ''makuuchi'' division for the first time in May 1993. He fell back to ''jūryō'' after a 4-11 score in his ''makuuchi'' debut but returned to the top division in November 1993, where he was to remain for the rest of his career. After defeating his first ''yokozuna'' and winning his first special prize in March 1994, he was promoted to a ''san'yaku'' rank for the first time for the following tournament in May 1994, at ''komusubi.'' He made ''sekiwake'' rank in January 1995, and came through with a winning record and another prize in his ''sekiwake'' debut. In the earlier part of his top division career Kaiō's lack of consistency, and injury problems, denied him the major promotion to ''ōzeki'' that his ability merited. He set records for both the number of tournaments spent at ''sekiwake'' (21) and for the longest run being consecutively ranked in the junior ''san'yaku'' ranks without making ''ōzeki'' (14). He also accumulated a record equalling ten ''Shukun-shō'', or Outstanding Performance Prizes. Together with his five ''Kantō-shō'', or Fighting Spirit awards, he has 15 special prizes in total, placing him third behind Akinoshima and Kotonishiki. He also earned six ''kinboshi'' or gold stars for defeating ''yokozuna'' when ranked as a ''maegashira''. He twice took part in playoffs for the championship, in November 1996 (with four other wrestlers, won by Musashimaru) and in March 1997 (with three others, won by Takanohana). In May 1997 injuries to his left leg sustained in a match with Takanonami caused him to miss tournaments and took over a year to fully heal. He could not win more than eight bouts in a tourney during 1998, but he was runner-up in two more tournaments in 1999, in May and November. 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「Kaiō Hiroyuki」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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