Irishman getting to grips with
world sumo attempt
 By ELAINE
SHERIDAN
LIFE is just one big adventure for Kerry-based solicitor Colin Carroll.
And next week he is set to continue in that vein as he dons his mawashi,
or belt, in the Japanese city of Sakai to represent Ireland at the Sumo
World Championships.
Carroll is the lightest ever international sumo entrant — but no-one
should write him off just yet.
Last year the 35-year-old came fifth in the Austrian Open.
He said: “I only came out with one broken bone in Austria which
was pretty amazing. I’ve been doing my research and I know how I’m
going to handle these guys.
“I’ve read the rules and I know what I’m allowed to
do. Of all the countries that enter, the Russians are the ones I’m
most wary about.
“They are lethal and they pose the most danger to me. They will
really try to damage me. I only weigh 11 and half stone and just about
got into the competition on a technicality — only because my mawashi,
or nappy as I call it, makes up the rest of the entry weight.”
Carroll is no stranger to the weird and whacky world of unusual sports.
The adrenaline junkie studied sports science at college until in his final
year he suffered a broken back while out at sea in Spain.
His real sporting adventures began with a chance encounter with a couple
of guys from Enniskillen in Zagreb.
They wanted to do something different and make a name for themselves.
The mission was to think of something they haven’t done before,
pronounce themselves experts, and go to somewhere they haven’t been
before to try to do it.
Carroll said: “Since that first meeting in Zagreb, me and the lads
— collectively known as NPE (No Prior Experience) — have raced
bobsleighs alongside the Russian and Latvian Olympic teams, posed as the
Irish ice hockey team in Riga while getting hammered, battered and bruised
along the way.
“But our biggest achievement so far was last December in the jungle
of Nepal when against all odds we won the World Elephant Polo Championships.
“We beat England 7-0 in the semis which really stunned them. We
returned home being the only world champion team of any description in
Ireland and still hold that title.”
Colin is now preparing to travel to Japan in his quest to take home the
Sumo World Championship trophy against all the odds.
In between this high octane existence, Colin is seeing out his apprenticeship
and qualifies as a solicitor in December this year.
n Colin is the author of Mission Improbable published by Mercier Press,
which charts some of his zany experiences throughout his travels. Check
out his website at www.NoPriorExperience.com
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