About Yamato Gō
Lived 1969 – 2024 (aged 54). Yamato Gō was an American rikishi.
Yamato Gō (born 17 December 1969 as George Kalima) is a former sumo wrestler from Oahu, Hawaii, United States. His highest rank was maegashira 12.
Career Yamato was a schoolfriend of future yokozuna Akebono. He made his professional debut in November 1990, joining Magaki stable. Yamato reached the salaried sekitori ranks in March 1995 when he was promoted to the jūryō division. He reached the top makuuchi division in January 1997, the first wrestler from his stable to do so since it was re-established in 1983. He chalked up a winning record of 8–7 in his debut and was ranked there for seven tournaments. He was forced to sit out the March 1998 tournament with a life-threatening bout of pneumonia which sent him down to jūryō. Still not fully recovered in May, he turned in a disastrous 1–14 record and fell to the unsalaried makushita division. Just before the July tournament he was hit by a car and was forced to withdraw once again. This sent him down to the bottom of makushita. After a 5–2 score in September he decided to retire rather than face another long struggle back up the rankings, and started up his own restaurant, Kama'āina's, in Tokyo's Roppongi district.
Although Yamato never rose high enough in the rankings to face a yokozuna in tournament competition, he once defeated Takanohana eight times in a row in training.
Career record
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Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Yamato Gō's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Yamato Gō?
American sumo wrestler
When was Yamato Gō born?
Yamato Gō was born on 17 December 1969 in Hawaii.
When did Yamato Gō die?
Yamato Gō died on 21 January 2024.
What was Yamato Gō's occupation?
Yamato Gō was a rikishi.
What nationality was Yamato Gō?
Yamato Gō was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Yamato Gō. https://biography.guide/yamato-go/
MLA: "Yamato Gō." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/yamato-go/.
Chicago: "Yamato Gō." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/yamato-go/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
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