'Empowering': Ireland's first female sumo wrestler blazes a trailListen to this articleToraigh Mallon poses for a photo during a training session at a sumo wrestling club in BelfastBELFAST - Sweat darkened the white "dohyo" ring mat as Ireland's first female sumo wrestler shoved and strained, learning a freshly-discovered sport. "Until then I think I was the only female sumo wrestler on the island of Ireland, Irish champion by default!" But almost all the wrestlers are men, so far, according to 37-year-old Templeton, who represented Great Britain at a sumo world championships in Poland in 2024. "Especially in Ireland, we find that the girls aren't as interested as the boys, maybe shying away from it because of an idea that a sumo wrestler is not very ladylike," he said. Although the exact numbers of women sumo wrestlers in Ireland and the UK are not known, Templeton said the increasingly popular sport offers exciting opportunities.

Source: Bangkok Post February 01, 2026 00:02 UTC