Sumo wrestling great Akebono Taro has died. He was 54.
Akebono, born Chad Rowan in 1969, was the first foreign-born wrestler to reach the level of “yokozuna” — or grand champion — in Japan. Growing up on the rural side of the Koolau Mountains in Honolulu, Hawaii, he moved to Tokyo in the late 1980s and won his first grand championship in 1993. At the peak of his career, he reportedly weighed in at 500 pounds and stood 6’8″ tall.
“It is with sadness that we announce Akebono Taro died of heart failure earlier this month while receiving care at a hospital in the Tokyo area,” the family said in a statement.