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![www.theguardian.com](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a904e2c59e383c4d4f5e319cc942ad72f5ee2498/138_0_1909_1145/master/1909.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=6ee0f13baef23b0f84daaf83e991386d)
Pioneering Hawaiian-born sumo champion Akebono dies aged 54
Tributes paid to wrestler, who was born Chad Rowan and became the sport’s first non-Japanese grand champion in 1993
..born Chad Rowan in Hawaii, is regarded as a pioneer after he broke down cultural barriers in the centuries-old sport to become the first non-Japanese yokozuna grand champion in 1993.
Japanese media said the wrestler, who took the name Taro Akebono when he became a Japanese citizen in 1996, had died of heart failure this month, citing a statement by the US Forces in Japan.
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