Clare Lutton, 24-years-old, and Caitlin Szanto, 19-years-old, are competitive sumo wrestlers which isn’t too big of a deal until you see them. They are changing the way people think about sumo wrestlers, and they will be the only women from Sydney competing in the national sumo championships on the Gold Coast this month.
”There’s a lack of awareness about how the sport has evolved into the different weight categories for women, which means you don’t have to be huge to compete,” Clare said.
Sumo wrestling has been slow to appeal to women and it is understandable considering it was plagued by the stereotype of obese men wearing nappies and really what woman wants to be associated with that? However, many of the women who are competitive do easily slide in with the all you can eat look. Clare and Caitlin are working around that and are starting to use their speed and skill to counter others brute.
”When I competed in opens I had women literally pick me up and chuck me out of the ring in a matter of seconds,” Caitlin said. ”To beat someone physically bigger than you requires skill because you have to get underneath your competitor and get them off balance.”