Mark Jacobs 
Tamawashi became the oldest sumo wrestler to earn an Emperor’s Cup championship in more than 60 years Sunday when he captured the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo with a win over stablemate, Takayasu. Coming into the final day one win behind Tamawashi and needing a victory to force a playoff bout, Takayasu exploded out of the blocks with a powerful two handed push. But Tamawashi responded with hard palm thrusts to the face that forced Takayasu out of the ring and secured him the title with a 13-2 record.
At 37 years 10 months old, Tamawashi became the oldest wrestler to win a grand sumo tournament since the modern system of six tournaments a year was established in 1958. It was his second career championship. Terunofuji, the only wrestler to currently hold the sport’s highest rank of yokozuna, was forced to exit the tournament on the 10th day with persistent knee problems.
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