A 28-year-old Japanese sumo wrestler has died from the coronavirus — the first known athlete in the sport to pass away from COVID-19, according to a report.
Kiyotaka Suetake, who competes as Shobushi, succumbed Wednesday to complications of the virus in an intensive care unit, CNN reported.
“He fought tenaciously against the disease, enduring the pain and suffering for more than a month like a sumo wrestler,” Japan’s Sumo Association said in a statement.
The wrestler first came down with a fever April 4, but struggled to get treatment due to hospitals seeing an influx of patients, the outlet reported.
Four days later, he was finally admitted to the hospital, but his health continued to deteriorate, according to the report.
During his bout with the illness, he also suffered pneumonia and multiple organ failure, which ultimately killed him, the report said.
“We hope he will rest in peace now. We are very grateful to everyone in the medical institutes who treated him with utmost care,” the sports association said.
Japan has seen almost 16,000 coronavirus cases, and 657 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.