Japan’s sumo wrestlers should take better care of their health and control their weight. The advice does not come from nutritionists or doctors but from a former wrestler who weighed more than any other man in the sport’s history.
“It’s never easy to stay healthy as long as you’re living the life of a sumo wrestler”, said Anatoly Mikhakhanov, known as Õrora, a retired professional wrestler. “You are the only person that can take care of yourself. Nobody in your sumo stable cares about you.”
The sumo diet chanko nabe is a stew packed with meat, fish and vegetables high in protein and low in fat. However, Õrora acknowledges the pressure put in fighters to consume more than 4,000 calories they need to recover from their intensive training.
His statement came after a 20-year-old wrestler died from Coronavirus. Doctors who treated him said that he had several chronic health conditions.
When Õrora retired he weighed impressive 288kg. He would eat over 200 pieces of sushi and a crate of beer every day, and could not refuse offers of extra bows of rice from trainers. As a result, he suffered from hypertension and struggled to fight off fatigue.
John Gunning, a former amateur sumo wrestler, said: “There is pressure on wrestlers to get bigger and stronger, but there has been no significant change in training methods or nutrition”.
While other contact sports such as rugby and American football have taken new approaches to training and nutrition, Japan’s Sumo Association remains anchored in tradition.
The association conducts regular health checks on wrestlers, but enforcing good eating habits is practically impossible among stables with contrasting attitudes towards nutrition and health.
