Women sumo fighters in the ring - 28th April 2023

Think of a sumo wrestler. He's probably big and doesn't wear many clothes. And he's an Asian man.

But now women do sumo wrestling too. Luciana Watanabe's from Brazil.

Luciana Watanabe: "In the whole world, there are many women practising sumo in more than 80 countries. There are already four weight categories. I think we are expanding this. My idea is to break prejudices."

Sumo came from Japan. Sumo and the Shinto religion go together. It's important in Japanese culture. In the past, women couldn't go near the wrestlers. They couldn't watch the matches. Women still can't fight as a job.

In 2001, international competitions in women's sumo began. Some hope it will become an Olympic sport.

Diana Dall'Olio does sumo. Before this, she tried different types of wrestling.

Diana Dall'Olio: "It is tiring, but the wrestling is quick. I've done judo and jiu-jitsu, but they are slow. Sumo is very fast, like 10 seconds. That's very good."

Sumo arrived in Brazil about 100 years ago. Japanese immigrants brought it. Now over half of Brazil's sumo wrestlers are women. Valeria Dall'Olio is one of them.

Valeria Dall'Olio: "There are preconceived ideas. Sometimes when I say I practise sumo, everyone looks at me thinking I should be fat, but amateur also has categories, and I fight in the medium category.

So one thing's clear. These days, sumo wrestling's changing. It isn't just for large, Asian men.