Irishman Colin Carroll's bizarre quest for a gold medal at the world sumo championships lasted just two seconds today.
The pint-sized man from Cork was aiming to add sumo glory to the world title he won in elephant polo last year but his hopes were snuffed out in brutal fashion by Ukraine's Vitaly Tikhenko.
Carroll collapsed in a heap after being swatted like a fly and fared little better in his repechage bout when he was blown clear out of the ring by Russian Igor Kurinnoy.
"The Russian scared me senseless," Carroll said. "I thought he was going to maim me. I'm a novice. That way it keeps life fresh and exciting."
Carroll broke his back in a freak wind-surfing accident 10 years ago but at least displayed no outward fear against the two Eastern European giants.
"I want to show what human potential can achieve when applied, even to something that we know nothing about," he said.
"I don't even know the rules of sumo. I didn't want to go through a back break again."
Carroll added that his next challenge will be a tilt at the three-legged world record at next year's Dublin marathon.