Jaws dropped at Minato stable last May when the 187-centimeter-tall Nicholas Tarasenko explained that he couldn’t accept a beer at their end-of-tournament party because he was still just 14 years old.
Fast forward three months and the English schoolboy (now 15) is training regularly at the same stable in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, with an eye toward joining the professional ranks once he completes compulsory education in summer 2025.
As Tarasenko is still a child, nothing is yet official, but several informed sources told The Japan Times that the teenager will likely be accepted into ōzumo as soon as he is eligible.