Newly retired yokozuna Hakuho and Miyagino stablemaster sat side by side at a news conference at Ryogoku Kokugikan on Friday, reflecting on two decades spent together in sumo.
Twenty years is a long time in Japan¡¯s physically demanding national sport, but 6,000 kilometers away in Hawaii lives a retired high-school teacher whose links to both Miyagino and Hakuho stretch back significantly further.
John Jacques, 77, has led an adventurous life filled with escapades such as sneaking into the athlete¡¯s village at the 1968 Mexico Olympics and spending several months living and training in Miyagino stable in the 1970s.
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