EGN NEWS DESK
Taro Akebono, a Hawaii-born sumo wrestler who turned the game’s first overseas grand champion, has died. He was 54.
He died of coronary heart failure in early April whereas receiving care at a hospital in Tokyo, in response to a press release from his household that was distributed by the United States Forces in Japan.
Born Chad George Ha’aheo Rowan in Hawaii, Akebono turned Japan’s sixty fourth yokozuna, or grand champion sumo wrestler, in 1993, the primary foreign-born sumo wrestler to win the game’s highest title. He went on to win a complete of 11 grand championships.
He is survived by his spouse, a daughter and two sons, in response to the U.S. Forces in Japan.
Motoko Rich contributed reporting.
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