And You Thought You Had Weight Issues...

by Don, With Malice...

Emanuel "Tiny" Yarbrough, a former amateur sumo wrestler, has decided it's time to fight the bulge and lose a good 200 pounds. Yes, that's right - TWO HUNDRED POUNDS.

Yarbrough, who also was a US-ranked Judo competitor, has come to the conclusion that it'd be a good idea to lose some of his 752 pounds. At the ripe ol' age of 42, Tiny is "sick and tired of being sick and tired", and wants to drop down to a meager 550 pounds. If he can hit that target (a mere shadow of his current weight... hell, I bet his shadow weighs more than me!), he plans to take part in next year's US Olympic Judo trials, and maybe even the Sumo World Championships (amateur).

After capturing the World Amateur Sumo Championships in 1995, Yarbrough enjoyed a brief period of fame - amongst others, he had appearances on Conan O'Brien & Nightline.

Emanuel Yarbrough's always been big - he didn't gain the wait for sumo. Apparently at age 14, he already outweighed most fully grown men - coming in at a svelte 320 pounds. Eating a lot of fried food, Tiny has put on weight the same way as most normal folks: little exercise, and poor eating habits.

Being this big (Yarbrough is also 6' 7") has complicated Tiny's life incredibly - his sports utility had to be customized to fit him, and he has to call ahead pretty much everywhere to make sure that seating will be able to hold his bulk. Even just basic exercise leaves him exhausted.

So, for a multitude of reasons - Emanuel Yarbrough wants to lose some of his prodigious bulk. He is seeing a specialist, and in the first week of getting with the new program, he lost 26 pounds. A reality TV show on his struggles is a possibility... but Tiny's fighting this for the chance of fighting - either in Judo or Sumo... but hopefully both. Even if he doesn't make them, losing weight can only benefit his life.

Hard battles ahead Tiny, but we at Epic Carnival wish you all the best with it!

[source: Mainichi Shimbun]