Takayasu Akira

Takayasu Akira (born February 28, 1990 in Tsuchiura) is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He made his professional debut in 2005 and reached the top makuuchi division in 2011, the first wrestler born in the Heisei era to do so. His highest rank has been ōzeki. He wrestles for Tagonoura stable. He has been runner-up in a tournament nine times - the most of any wrestler who has not also won a championship. He has earned fourteen special prizes: seven for Fighting Spirit, four for Outstanding Performance and three for Technique. He has also won seven gold stars for defeating yokozuna. After achieving 34 wins in the three tournaments from January to May 2017, he was officially promoted to ōzeki on May 31, 2017. He maintained the rank for a total of 15 tournaments.