This weekend the 24th annual US Sumo Open makes its way back to the Walter Pyramid at California State University Long Beach in Long Beach, California. The biggest sumo event of the Western Hemisphere will usher in the May Grand Sumo Tournament at the Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.
2024 US Sumo Open Preview
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The largest sumo tournament in North America returns to action for its 24th year in a row, as the US Sumo Open continues to expand the sport with innovative opportunities for athletes across the world. The US Sumo Open is known for its male and female competing classes as well as weight divisions that are more traditional to the boxing and MMA world.
Thirty-one-year-old Mongolian sumo star, Ichinojo, who won the 2022 Top Division Championship, will be in attendance for the event.
The Tournament
USA Sumo scouts athletes from all across the globe and acquires top competitors to compete in the five-hour long exhibition. There are rikishi competing from over a dozen different countries including Mongolia, Brazil, and the United States. Five world champions will enter the dohyo among sixty world-wide competitors. Amongst the individual weight classes, there is an openweight division where David vs Goliath showdowns ensue and a more traditional look at Japanese sumo comes to life.
The tournament will be free to watch live on YouTube. Follow the link here.
Future Events
The USA Sumo Organization will return next month on June 22nd and 29th for All-Star Sumo, an elite-level sumo competition will no weight classes and twenty-eight featured bouts.
