Tamio "Tommy" Kono (June 27, 1930 – April 24, 2016) was a Japanese American

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lif ...

in the 1950s and 1960s. Kono set world records in four different weight classes: lightweight (149 pounds or 67.5 kilograms), middleweight (165 lb or 75 kg), light-heavyweight (182 lb or 82.5 kg) and middle-heavyweight (198 lb or 90 kg).

Early life

Kono was born in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, on June 27, 1930. His family was of

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

descent and were interned at Tule Lake internment camp in 1942 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

following the signing of Executive Order 9066. Sickly as a child, the desert air helped Kono's

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

. It was during the relocation that Kono was introduced to weightlifting by neighbors including Noboru "Dave" Shimoda, a member of the Tule Lake weightlifting and bodybuilding club and brother of actor

Yuki Shimoda Yuki Shimoda (August 10, 1921 – May 21, 1981) was an American actor best known for his starring role as Ko Wakatsuki in the NBC movie of the week ''Farewell to Manzanar'' in 1976. He also co-starred in the 1960s television series '' Johnny Mi ...

and his friends, Gotoh, Toda and Bob Nakanishi. After 3 years they were released and Kono finished

Sacramento High School Sacramento Charter High School ("Sac High") is an independent public charter high school in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento, California. Originally founded in 1856, Sacramento High is the second oldest public high school in California. I ...

. He later worked for the

California Department of Motor Vehicles The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is the state agency that registers motor vehicles and boats and issues driver licenses in the U.S. state of California. It regulates new car dealers (through the New Motor Vehicle Board), c ...

and attended

Sacramento Junior College Sacramento City College (SCC) is a public community college in Sacramento, California. SCC is part of the Los Rios Community College District and had an enrollment of 25,307 in 2009. It is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community ...

. Kono was drafted into the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

in 1950 as a cook but was kept in the United States during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

after officials learned of his Olympic potential. As a private, he was first sent to Camp Stoneman, then reassigned to

Fort Mason Fort Mason, in San Francisco, California originated as a coastal defense site during the American Civil War. The nucleus of the property was owned by John C. Frémont and disputes over compensation by the United States continued into 1968. In 188 ...

in San Francisco, California.

Career

Kono was a gold medalist at both the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

and 1956 Summer Olympics, and a silver medalist at the 1960 Summer Olympics under coach Bob Hoffman. Kono won the

World Weightlifting Championships The World Weightlifting Championships is an event organised by International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). The first competition, held in March 1891, was won by Edward Lawrence Levy of England. Athletes compete in a total of 20 weight categorie ...

six consecutive times from 1953 to 1959 and was a three-time Pan American Games champion; in 1955, 1959, and 1963. A knee injury prevented him from qualifying for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the following year he retired from the sport. He set a total of 26 world records and seven Olympic records, making him the most accomplished U.S. male weightlifter to date. Kono was also a successful

bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

, winning the Fédération Internationale Haltérophile et Culturiste Mr. Universe titles in 1954, 1955, 1957 and 1961. After his retirement he turned to coaching, taking on the Mexican

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

and West German

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

weightlifting teams before becoming head coach of the United States' Olympic weightlifting team at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 P ...

. During his weightlifting career in the 1960s, he developed a pair of bands to support knees during training. These eventually extended to the elbows and became standard weightlifting equipment. While he was coaching in West Germany during the 1970s, his correspondence with Adidas led to the firm's development of low cut weightlifting shoes.

Awards

Along with his weightlifting and bodybuilding titles, Kono was an eight-time Amateur Athletic Union

James E. Sullivan Award The AAU James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), is awarded annually in April to "the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States". Representatives from the AAU created the AAU Sullivan Award with the int ...

finalist, an award given annually to the top American amateur athlete. He was also one of the first members of the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame in 1978. In 1990, Kono received the Association of Oldetime Barbell and Strongmen Highest Achievement Award and was inducted into the

United States Olympic Hall of Fame United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

. He was elected to the

International Weightlifting Federation The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), headquartered in Lausanne, is the international governing body for the sport of Olympic weightlifting. The IWF was founded in 1905, and has 192 Member Federations. The IWF President is Mohammed H ...

Hall of Fame in 1993. In 2005, the

named Kono the "''Lifter of the Century''."

Portrayals

Kono appeared in Universal Newsreel volume 32, number 63, August 6, 1959. He is depicted as part of a mural located at 37 West Philadelphia Street in York, Pennsylvania. This mural was finished in 2000. Kono's life was featured in the documentary
"Arnold Knows Me: The Tommy Kono Story"
that was released in the summer of 2016. The film first aired on KVIE (PBS) Sacramento and went on to air in more than 50 (PBS-affiliate) markets across the country. Kono was depicted in a

Google Doodle A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...

marking the anniversary of his birth in 2021.

Death

Kono died on April 24, 2016, in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

from complications of

liver disease Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common. Signs and symptoms Some of the si ...

, aged 85. Survivors included his wife of 53 years, the former Florence Rodrigues of Honolulu, three children, and three grandchildren.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kono, Tommy 1930 births 2016 deaths American male weightlifters American strength athletes Weightlifters at the 1952 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1956 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in weightlifting Olympic silver medalists for the United States in weightlifting World record setters in weightlifting Japanese-American internees Sportspeople from Sacramento, California American sportspeople of Japanese descent Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States People associated with physical culture Pan American Games medalists in weightlifting Weightlifters at the 1955 Pan American Games Weightlifters at the 1959 Pan American Games Weightlifters at the 1963 Pan American Games World Weightlifting Championships medalists Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games United States Army soldiers Deaths from liver disease