Tokyo - The US-born sumo star Akebono, who millions of viewers saw perform a groundstamping ritual at the Nagano Olympic opening ceremony, is getting married, according to Japanese reports.
His fiancee, a 25-year-old Japanese-American with blonde hair, is expecting the couple's first child shortly before their wedding in September, according to the reports.
The woman was identified only as a private tutor living near the US military base in Yokota, near Tokyo. She and Akebono first met in 1988 shortly after he came from his native Hawaii for his debut in sumo.