Seiko Yamamoto

Japanese female wrestler Seiko Yamamoto, who retired in July 2006, has now announced her comeback at a press conference on Wednesday. After entering retirement, Yamamoto had given birth to a baby boy with her husband Hideaki Nagashima, who is a member of the Japanese national handball team.


The 28-year old Yamamoto is a four-time world champion wrestler. Seiko comes from a family of wrestlers, starting with her father Ikuei who competed in the 1972 Munich Olympics. Her elder brother Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, who missed out on a spot at the Beijing Olympics last summer after a seven-year hiatus from amateur wrestling, is active as a mixed martial arts fighter.

Seiko Yamamoto had gone into retirement after failing to secure a ticket to the 2006 world championships in Guangzhou, China. Earlier Yamamoto had another failure in not securing a berth at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Kyodo News