Kicker: Lightweight heavyweight

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NICK EICHER, HOST: Some of the ripple effects of the war in Ukraine have made it all the way to Japan, even into the sumo wrestling ring.

SOUND: [Grunting, breathing, coach voice]

Ukrainian wrestler Danylo Yavhusishyn left the country and eventually found a home in the sumo clubs.

And just three years in, the 21-year-old made history as the first Ukrainian to win an elite-level sumo tournament.

Yavhusishyn is a relative lightweight in a sport where girth matters.

So this 308-pound lightweight, as they call him, is learning to toss aside giants. And in Japan he’s becoming one metaphorically if not physically.

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