Jan. 2023 | Vol. 20 Iss. 01
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MIDVALE RESIDENT RANKED TOP FIVE AMATEUR SUMO WRESTLERS IN THE COUNTRY By Sarah Morton Taggart | s.taggart@mycityjournals.com
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wo men crouch, facing each other in a 15-foot circle. At the signal, they explode into movement, pushing and dodging until one of them steps out of the ring. The bout is over in a matter of seconds. This is sumo, and one of America’s top amateur wrestlers lives right here in Midvale. “Shin-deshi:” A new recruit into sumo George Ferris never seriously considered sumo wrestling until he saw a billboard for a tournament while driving down I-15. “I thought, ‘I’m a big guy. I’m relatively athletic,’” Ferris said. “When am I ever going to have a chance to do sumo?” The Fitcon 2019 Sumo Cup was organized to give the best amateur sumo wrestlers in America a chance to gather and compete between the U.S. Sumo Open and the World Sumo Championships. According to a blogger on northamericansumo.com, many of the top American competitors and even wrestlers from Mongolia and England competed. “So I showed up, they gave me a free T-shirt, and I went undefeated in two tournaments,” Ferris said. Amateur sumo consists of bouts between nonprofessional and ex-professional wrestlers, as well as women and minors, who are ineligible to compete as professional sumo wrestlers. Continued page 8
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George Ferris (right) tried sumo on a whim in 2019 and won gold in the Beginner’s Open category and the Men’s Team Competition. (Photo courtesy George Ferris)
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