John Gunning | |
---|---|
Born | 1973or1974(age 50–51) [1] |
Education | Mary Immaculate College |
Occupation(s) | Sports journalist, sports commentator |
John Gunning is an Irish sports journalist and sports commentator living and working in Japan. He is particularly known for his coverage of sumo, in which he previously competed at amateur level.
Gunning is from Castlerea, County Roscommon, Republic of Ireland. [1] He developed a fondness for American football as it was exotic to him. [1] Gunning attended Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, where he earned a degree in media and communications. [2] While at university, he and some classmates were in a rock band named Libido. [1] Gunning lived in both the United States and Italy for a time. [1] [2]
Gunning first visited Japan in 2000 for a two-week holiday with a friend and fell in love with the country. [1] He quit his job upon returning to Ireland, and nine months later was living and working in Osaka teaching English. [2] In order to make friends and facilitate learning the Japanese language, Gunning joined a local sports team called the Red Flags, not knowing that they were tied to a communist party. [2]
Upon moving to Tokyo, Gunning gave up association football due to injuries and took up sumo in 2004 at the age of 30. [1] [2] He joined Komatsuryu Dojo, one of the oldest sumo clubs in the country for young wrestlers who want to go on to join professional sumo stables. [2] He decided to double his weight to 120 kilos and focused on power as he lacked speed. [1] He competed in amateur sumo for a decade, suffering injuries such as concussions, breaking his humerus, fracturing his skull, and breaking several teeth. [2] Gunning represented Ireland at three Sumo World Championships; 2007 in Thailand, 2008 in Estonia, and 2012 in Hong Kong, but in his words he was unable to translate his results seen in training into the tournaments, and so retired in 2012. [1]
When an acquaintance was leaving his job as a columnist at The Daily Yomiuri , he recommended Gunning. [3] At short notice, Gunning called up the rikishi he knew for exclusive comments and turned in a piece within 30 hours. He then wrote a column for the newspaper for a few years. [3] Gunning got a job at NHK in a similar manner: someone was leaving and someone else knew of his work and offered him a job. [3] He works on various programmes for the Japanese public broadcaster, including as an English-language commentator on its live sumo tournament broadcasts. [4] [5]
Gunning founded Inside Sport Japan in 2017, where he is the content director. [1] He created it after years of finding what he felt were great sport stories but having no outlet to tell them as they did not fit with a daily newspaper for various reasons. [3] Another goal was to gather journalists who are doing good work, but who have small audiences, and bring them together in one place. [3] The company covers sports such as sumo, American football, rugby, and basketball, [2] but also those that are more less well-covered, such as women's sports or parasports. [3] Also in 2017, Gunning was asked by The Japan Times to write a column on sumo in relation to their 120th anniversary revamping. He said it was an honour to be asked as their website was the first place he had read about the sport when he first moved to Japan. [4] He has continued to write weekly for the newspaper on sumo. [2]
Gunning acknowledges that by working in Japan he is not as free to say what he wants as he would be in other countries, but said "I try to push the envelope and ask important questions." For example, he supports female participation in sumo and is outspoken on what he believes is the inevitable issue of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in the sport, the latter related to the injuries he experienced first hand while competing. [1] [6]
Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a rikishi (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (dohyō) or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet.
A rikishi (力士), sumōtori (相撲取り) or, more colloquially, osumōsan (お相撲さん), is a sumo wrestler. Although used to define all wrestlers participating in sumo wrestling matches, the term is more commonly used to refer to professional wrestlers, employed by the Japan Sumo Association, who participate in professional sumo tournaments in Japan, the only country where sumo is practiced professionally.
Futabayama Sadaji was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Oita Prefecture. Entering sumo in 1927, he was the sport's 35th yokozuna from 1937 until his retirement in 1945. He won twelve yūshō or top division championships and had a winning streak of 69 consecutive bouts, an all-time record. Despite his dominance he was extremely popular with the public. After his retirement he was head coach of Tokitsukaze stable and chairman of the Japan Sumo Association.
A honbasho, or Grand Sumo Tournament in English, is an official professional sumo tournament. Only honbasho results matter in determining promotion and relegation for rikishi on the banzuke ranking. The number of honbasho held every year and their length has varied; since 1958 there are six tournaments held over 15 consecutive days in four locations every year. Since 1926 the honbasho are organized by the Japan Sumo Association, after the merger of the Tokyo and Osaka sumo associations.
Hakuhō Shō is a former professional sumo wrestler (rikishi) from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Making his debut in March 2001, he reached the top makuuchi division in May 2004. In May 2007, at age 22, he became the second native of Mongolia, and the fourth non-Japanese overall, to be promoted to the highest rank in sumo, yokozuna. He is widely considered to be the greatest sumo wrestler of all time.
Kitanofuji Katsuaki is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Asahikawa, Hokkaidō. He made his professional debut in 1957, reaching the top makuuchi division in 1964. He was the sport's 52nd yokozuna, a rank he attained in 1970. He won ten tournament championships and was known for his rivalry with Tamanoumi. He retired in 1974 and was the head coach of Kokonoe stable from 1977 to 1992. He left the Japan Sumo Association in 1998 but is still prominent in the sumo world as a commentator as of 2021.
Kisenosato Yutaka born July 3, 1986, as Yutaka Hagiwara is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler from Ibaraki. He made his professional debut in 2002 and reached the top makuuchi division in 2004 at the age of just 18. After many years in the junior san'yaku ranks, he reached the second highest rank of ōzeki in January 2012. He earned three kinboshi or gold stars by defeating yokozuna in his career leading up to ōzeki and nine special prizes. He scored more than 20 double-digit winning records at the ōzeki rank. In 2016, he secured the most wins in the calendar year, the first wrestler to do so without winning a tournament in that year.
Kotoshōgiku Kazuhiro is a Japanese former professional sumo wrestler. Wrestling for Sadogatake stable, he made his professional debut in 2002, and reached the top division in 2005. In 2011 he achieved the standard for promotion to the second highest rank of ōzeki by winning 33 bouts over three tournaments, and was formally promoted by the Japan Sumo Association on 28 September.
Hayateumi Hidehito is a former sumo wrestler from Aomori, Japan. His highest rank was sekiwake. He is now a Liberal Democratic Party politician.
Wakanohō Toshinori is a retired Russian sumo wrestler. His highest rank was maegashira 1. He became the first active wrestler to be dismissed from sumo, after being arrested for possession of cannabis in August 2008. He has also played college football at the University of South Florida, Webber International University, and Warner University. As of July 2014, he lives in Florida.
Terunofuji Haruo, is a Mongolian-Japanese professional sumo wrestler. Wrestling for the Isegahama stable, he entered professional sumo in January 2011 and took the second division jūryō championship in his debut as a sekitori in September 2013. He took the top makuuchi division championship in May 2015, only 25 tournaments after his professional debut, which is the fourth-fastest behind Asashōryū and Takanohana's 23 tournaments and Takerufuji's 9 tournaments. This earned him promotion to sumo's second-highest rank of ōzeki.
Asashōryū Akinori is a Mongolian former professional sumo wrestler (rikishi). He was the 68th yokozuna in the history of the sport in Japan, and in January 2003 he became the first Mongolian to reach sumo's highest rank. He was one of the most successful yokozuna ever. In 2005, he became the first wrestler to win all six official tournaments (honbasho) in a single year. Over his entire career, he won 25 top division tournament championships, placing him fourth on the all-time list.
Takakeishō Takanobu as Takanobu Satō is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ashiya, Hyōgo. He made his professional debut in September 2014, and reached the highest makuuchi division in January 2017 after 14 tournaments. He won his first championship in the top division in November 2018, four years after his debut. Takakeishō wrestled for Tokiwayama stable, and his highest rank was ōzeki, which he first reached in May 2019. He earned seven special prizes and three gold stars for defeating yokozuna. He won his second championship in November 2020, his third one in January 2023, and his fourth one in September 2023. Consecutive losing tournaments in 2024 resulted in his demotion to sekiwake. He withdrew from the September 2024 tournament after a series of losses. On September 20, he announced his retirement. At a press conference on September 21, he announced that as toshiyori he will bear the name Minatogawa.
Doreen Sylvia Simmons was an English sumo commentator. After moving to Japan in 1973 she became an expert on sumo and was hired by NHK in 1992 to provide commentary for their English language sumo broadcasts. She was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun in 2017.
Abi Masatora is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Saitama Prefecture. He made his debut in May, 2013 and wrestles for Shikoroyama stable. He reached the top makuuchi division in January 2018 and has four special prizes for Fighting Spirit and one for Outstanding Performance. He has three gold stars for yokozuna upsets. His highest rank has been sekiwake. He won his first championship in November 2022.
Enhō Yūya is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Ishikawa Prefecture. He made his debut in March 2017 and was a member of Miyagino stable, under the guidance of former yokozuna Hakuhō, until his transfer to Isegahama stable in March 2024. His highest rank has been maegashira 4.
The following are the events in professional sumo during 2020.
The following are the events in professional sumo during 2021.
Abdelrahman Ehab Mohamed El-Sefy is an Egyptian sport wrestler who has competed in amateur sumo wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling. As a sport wrestler, he competes in the 87 kg division of Greco-Roman wrestling. As an amateur sumo wrestler, he is a gold medalist at the World Games and a two-time bronze medalist at the Sumo World Championships.
Ross T. Mihara is an American journalist. After working in broadcasting in Hawaii, he moved to Japan in 1994 where he became an English-language sumo commentator and news anchor for NHK.