Hakuhō Shō (Japanese: 白鵬 翔, born 11 March 1985 as Mönkhbatyn Davaajargal (Mongolian: Мөнхбатын Даваажаргал; IPA: [mөnxpatʰin taw̜aːt͡ʃargaɮ])) is a retired professional sumo wrestler (rikishi) from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Making his debut in March 2001, he reached the top makuuchi division in May 2004. In May 2007, at the age of 22, he became the second native of Mongolia, and the fourth non-Japanese overall, to be promoted to the highest rank in sumo, yokozuna.
In 2009, he broke the record for the most wins in a calendar year, winning 86 out of 90 bouts, and repeated this feat with the same record again in 2010 when he established the second longest winning streak in sumo history. He also holds the record for the most undefeated tournament championships at sixteen, which is eight more than any other sumo wrestler in history.
He was the only active yokozuna from 2010, following the retirement of his rival and fellow Mongolian Asashōryū, until 2012 with the promotion of fellow Mongolian Harumafuji. In March 2021, he became the only active yokozuna once again following the retirement of his rival and fellow Mongolian Kakuryū until the promotion of fellow Mongolian Terunofuji 4 months later.[1][2]
In January 2015, he broke Taihō's long-standing record by winning his 33rd top division championship, the most in the history of sumo.[3] He holds the records for most wins in the top division, achieved in May 2016,[4] and most career wins, achieved in July 2017.[5] He was the longest-serving yokozuna of all-time, having surpassed Haguroyama's record in 2019, and fought his 1000th bout as a yokozuna in July 2020. He acquired Japanese citizenship in 2019.
Hakuhō retired from professional sumo at the end of September 2021, closing out a 20-year career in the sport.[6] Sumo commentator John Gunning noted that Hakuhō left an unmatchable legacy,[7] while a columnist for the Washington Post called him the "greatest figure in sports, maybe ever.
