Kotonowaka
| Kotonowaka Terumasa | |
|---|---|
| 琴ノ若 晴將 | |
 |
|
| Personal information | |
| Born | Mitsuya Konno May 15, 1968 Yamagata, Japan |
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) |
| Weight | 181 kg (399 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Sadogatake |
| Record | 785-764-100 |
| Debut | May, 1984 |
| Highest rank | Sekiwake (January, 1999) |
| Retired | November, 2005 |
| Championships | 2 (Sandanme) |
| Special Prizes | Outstanding Performance (2) Fighting Spirit (5) |
| Gold Stars | 8 Takanohana II (3) Wakanohana III (2) Asashōryū (2) Akebono |
| * Up to date as of July 2007. | |
Kotonowaka Terumasa (born May 15, 1968 as Mitsuya Konno) is a former sumo wrestler from Obanazawa, Yamagata prefecture, Japan. He made his professional debut in 1984 and after reaching the top makuuchi division in 1990 he remained there for 15 years until his retirement in 2005. His highest rank was sekiwake and he earned seven special prizes and eight gold stars during his long makuuchi career. He is now the head coach of Sadogatake stable.
At junior high school he practiced judo and shotput, and even represented his prefecture at the All Tohoku Shotput Championships. He was already 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in) tall by the age of 14. He was scouted into sumo by a supporter of Sadogatake stable. He had intended to join in March 1984 alongside Kotonishiki, but failed the physical because of high blood pressure, delaying his entry by two months.
At first he wrestled under the name Imano and then Kotokonno before finally settling on Kotonowaka in 1988. It took him six years to achieve sekitori status by reaching the jūryō division in July 1990. He first reached makuuchi in November 1990 and remained continuously in the top division from March 1991. He advanced several times into the san'yaku ranks, first making komusubi in September 1993. However he had to wait until January 1999 to achieve his highest rank of sekiwake, following a strong 10-5 showing at komusubi the previous November.
...
Wikipedia