Sumo wrestlers, or rikishi, are world-renowned for their gigantic size. With no weight classes, the traditional Japanese sport has long seen athletes putting on as much size as they possibly can, and they have only gotten bigger and bigger as the sport has grown internationally in the 21st century.
But the growing size has led to health issues, with the sport’s governing body accused of disregarding the athletes’ welfare. This means it seems increasingly possible that the record might last forever.
The current title for the heaviest sumo wrestler ever goes to Ōrora Satoshi. That was the name he competed under, at least, but he was born Anatoly Mikhakhanov, and he was the first Russian to compete in professional sumo. In total, his career spanned 18 years.
His peak weight came at the very end of his career. When appearing at the 2018 Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo, Japan. Ōrora weighed in at 292.6 kilograms. That is just shy of 645 lbs, or 46 st 1 lb. He retired immediately after the tournament. Ōrora first gained the title in 2017 when he weighed 288 kg, overtaking Konishiki Yasokichi, an American wrestler hailing from Hawaii.
Ōrora has since moved back to his native Buryatia, a Russian district in Siberia. To the south, it borders Mongolia, another country that has seen massive success in sumo in recent years.
Rumors went that in his pomp, Ōrora could consume as many as 200 pieces of sushi and an entire crate of beer in one night. Rikishi have long been known for the staggering amounts of food and drink they could put away, but since his retirement, Ōrora has been living a rather different life. He has dropped well over 200 lbs and shared his fitness journey online, as well as criticizing trainers in Japan for not caring about the wellbeing of their fighters.
This was particularly the case in 2020 with the onset of Covid-19. Ōrora spoke out about the dangers of coronavirus to people with obesity, particularly if it leads to diabetes. This followed the death of a young sumo wrestler whose Covid infection had been complicated by diabetes and his weight. He was just 28 years old, and doctors said he had several chronic health conditions.
“It’s never easy to stay healthy as long as you’re living the life of a sumo wrestler,” Ōrora said. “You are the only person that can take care of yourself. Nobody in your sumo stable cares about you.”
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Every rikishi belongs to a sumo stable, institutions where the fighters live and train under highly regimented routines. During his career, Ōrora suffered from hypertension and reportedly struggled to turn down food and drink from more experienced rikishi in his stable. The stables are incredibly hierarchical, based on success and experience.
“I would lie down right after eating, which wasn’t good,” he told the newspaper. “Just walking or moving was really troublesome.”
In response, the Japan Sumo Association, which has faced a number of controversies in recent years, published 10 health guidelines for the rikishi and the stables. These include dietary recommendations, as well as mandated health checks on the wrestlers.
