Deaths on January 19

Taihō Kōki, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 48th Yokozuna (b. 1940)

Taihō Kōki (Japanese: 大鵬 幸喜, born Kōki Naya (納谷 幸喜, Naya Kōki), Ukrainian: Іва́н Бори́шко, Ivan Boryshko; May 29, 1940 – January 19, 2013) was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He became the 48th yokozuna in 1961 at the age of 21, the youngest ever at the time.

Kōki won 32 tournament championships between 1960 and 1971, a record that was unequalled until 2014. His dominance was such that he won six tournaments in a row on two occasions, and he won 45 consecutive matches between 1968 and 1969, which at the time was the best winning streak since Futabayama in the 1930s. He is the only wrestler to win at least one championship every year of his top division career.He was a popular grand champion, especially amongst women and children. After retiring from active competition, he became a sumo coach, although health problems meant he had limited success.

When Kōki died in January 2013 he was widely cited as the greatest sumo wrestler of the post-war period. Since then Hakuhō, who regarded Taihō as a mentor, surpassed his record by winning his 33rd championship in January 2015.