{{Short description|American weightlifter (1930–2016)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2016}} {{Infobox sportsperson | name = Tommy Kono | image = Tommy Kono.jpg | caption = Kono in 2015 | birth_name = Tamio Kono | birth_date = {{birth date|1930|6|27}} | birth_place = Sacramento, California, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2016|4|24|1930|6|27}} | death_place = Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. | height = 167 cm<ref name="S-R">{{cite Sports-Reference |title=Tommy Kono |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ko/tommy-kono-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417235949/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ko/tommy-kono-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 17, 2020 |access-date=April 1, 2018}}</ref> | weight = 67-81 kg<ref name="S-R"/> | country = United States | sport = Olympic weightlifting | event = Clean and press<br>Clean and jerk<br>Snatch | turnedpro = 1952 | retired = 1964 | show-medals = yes | medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Men's weightlifting}} {{MedalCountry | the {{Flagu|United States}} }} {{MedalOlympics}} {{MedalGold|1952 Helsinki|-67.5 kg}} {{MedalGold|1956 Melbourne|-82.5 kg}} {{MedalSilver|1960 Rome|-75 kg}} {{MedalCompetition|World Weightlifting Championships}} {{MedalGold | 1953 Stockholm | -75kg}} {{MedalGold | 1954 Vienna | -82.5 kg}} {{MedalGold | 1955 Munich | -82.5 kg}} {{MedalGold | 1957 Teheran | -75kg}} {{MedalGold | 1958 Stockholm | -75kg}} {{MedalGold | 1959 Warsaw | -75kg}} {{MedalBronze | 1961 Vienna | -82.5 kg}} {{MedalSilver | 1962 Budapest | -82.5 kg}} {{MedalCompetition|Pan American Games}} {{MedalGold | 1955 Mexico City | -82.5 kg}} {{MedalGold | 1959 Chicago | -75kg}} {{MedalGold | 1963 São Paulo | -82.5 kg}} }}

'''Tamio''' "'''Tommy'''" '''Kono''' ({{langx|ja|高野 民夫}}, June 27, 1930 – April 24, 2016) was an American weightlifter of Japanese descent. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Kono set world records in four different weight classes:<ref name="hickok">{{cite web |title=Sports Biographies: Kono, "Tommy" (Tami T.) |publisher=Hickok Sports |url=http://www.hickoksports.com/biograph/konotommy.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526192242/http://www.hickoksports.com/biograph/konotommy.shtml |archive-date=May 26, 2013 |access-date=April 26, 2016}}</ref> lightweight (149 pounds or 67.5 kilograms), middleweight (165&nbsp;lb or 75&nbsp;kg), light-heavyweight (182&nbsp;lb or 82.5&nbsp;kg) and middle-heavyweight (198&nbsp;lb or 90&nbsp;kg).<ref name="Death">{{cite news |title=Olympic weightlifter Kono dies at 85 |url=http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sports-breaking/olympic-weightlifter-kono-dies-at-85/ |access-date=April 26, 2016 |work=Honolulu Star-Advertiser}}</ref>

==Early life== Kono was born in Sacramento, California, on June 27, 1930. His family was of Japanese descent and were interned at Tule Lake internment camp in 1942 during World War II following the signing of Executive Order 9066.<ref name=jpt>{{cite news |last1=Miyaguchi |first1=Sean |title=Olympic journey of American weightlifting legend Kono began in WWII internment camp |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/12/04/national/american-weight-lifting-legend-konos-olympic-journey-began-wwii-internment-camp/#.Vx7OwnrKFjX |access-date=April 26, 2016 |work=The Japan Times |date=December 4, 2015 |language=en-US}}</ref> Sickly as a child, the desert air helped Kono's asthma.<ref name=seip>{{citation |last=Seip |first=Jim |title=Greatest Olympic lifter found strength in York |newspaper=York Daily Record |date=April 30, 2016 |url=http://www.ydr.com/story/archives/2016/04/30/greatest-olympic-lifter-found-strength-york/83742050/}}</ref> 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 and his friends, Gotoh, Toda and Bob Nakanishi. After 3{{frac|1|2}} years they were released and Kono finished Sacramento High School. He later worked for the California Department of Motor Vehicles and attended Sacramento Junior College.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Svinth |first1=Joseph R. |title=PT: Tommy Kono |url=http://ejmas.com/pt/ptart_svinth_0100.htm |publisher=Physical Training |access-date=April 26, 2016 |date=January 2000}}</ref>

Kono was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1950 as a cook but remained in the United States during the Korean War after officials learned of his Olympic potential.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Zaccardi |first1=Nick |title=Tommy Kono, Olympic weightlifting legend, dies at 85 |url=http://olympics.nbcsports.com/2016/04/25/tommy-kono-dies-weightlifting-olympics/ |access-date=April 26, 2016 |work=NBC Sports |date=April 25, 2016}}</ref> As a private, he was first sent to Camp Stoneman, then reassigned to Fort Mason in San Francisco, California.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/246263823/ "Sports Stars Help Oakland Celebrate 100th Birthday"], ''Oakland Tribune'', volume CLVI, number 126, May 5, 1952, page D24.</ref><ref>[https://rafu.com/2016/04/olympic-medalist-tommy-kono-dies-at-85/ "Olympic Medalist Tommy Kono Dies at 85"], ''Rafu Shimpo'' website (Los Angeles Japanese Daily News), April 29, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2021.</ref>

==Career== thumb|left|180px|Kono, circa 1952 Kono was a gold medalist at both the 1952 Summer Olympics and 1956 Summer Olympics, and a silver medalist at the 1960 Summer Olympics under coach Bob Hoffman. Kono won the World Weightlifting Championships six consecutive times from 1953 to 1959 and was a three-time Pan American Games champion; in 1955, 1959, and 1963.<ref name=hnn>{{cite web |last1=Scheuring |first1=Ian |title=Olympic gold medalist, legendary weightlifter Tommy Kono dies |publisher=Hawaii News Now |url=http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/31804502/two-time-olympic-gold-medalist-legendary-weightlifter-tommy-kono-dies |date=April 25, 2016 |access-date=April 25, 2016}}</ref> A knee injury prevented him from qualifying for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the following year he retired from the sport.<ref name=jpt/> He set a total of 26 world records and seven Olympic records, making him the most accomplished U.S. male weightlifter to date.<ref name=usa/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/30/sports/olympics/tommy-kono-weight-lifting-champion-raised-in-internment-camp-dies-at-85.html |title=Tommy Kono, Weight-Lifting Champion Raised in Internment Camp, Dies at 85 |last=Litsky |first=Frank |date=2016-04-29 |newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=2016-05-03}}</ref>

Kono was also a successful bodybuilder, winning the Fédération Internationale Haltérophile et Culturiste Mr. Universe titles in 1954, 1955, 1957 and 1961.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mr. Universe Competition by FIHC |url=http://www.sport-record.info/bodybuilding/kulturistik-fihc-wm.html |publisher=sport-record.info |access-date=April 26, 2016}}</ref> After his retirement he turned to coaching, taking on the Mexican 1968 and West German 1972 Summer Olympics weightlifting teams before becoming head coach of the United States' Olympic weightlifting team at the 1976 Summer Olympics.<ref name=jpt/><ref name=usa>{{cite web |title=Two-Time Weightlifting Olympic Champion Tommy Kono Dies At 85 |url=http://www.teamusa.org/News/2016/April/25/Two-Time-Weightlifting-Olympic-Champion-Tommy-Kono-Dies-At-85 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428012717/http://www.teamusa.org/News/2016/April/25/Two-Time-Weightlifting-Olympic-Champion-Tommy-Kono-Dies-At-85 |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 28, 2016 |publisher=Team USA |access-date=April 26, 2016}}</ref>

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.<ref name=usa/> 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schmitz |first1=Jim |title=The Feet |url=http://www.ironmind.com/articles/jim-schmitz-on-the-lifts/The-Feet/ |publisher=IronMind |access-date=April 26, 2016 |date=2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Heffernan |first1=Conor |title=The History of Weightlifting Shoes |url=https://physicalculturestudy.com/2016/04/05/the-history-of-weightlifting-shoes/ |publisher=Physical Culture Study |access-date=April 26, 2016 |date=April 5, 2016}}</ref>

== Awards == Along with his weightlifting and bodybuilding titles, Kono was an eight-time AAU James E. Sullivan Award finalist, an award given annually to the top American amateur athlete.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Atkin |first1=Ross |title=America's Outstanding Amateur |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1996/0308/08131.html |access-date=April 26, 2016 |work=The Christian Science Monitor |date=March 8, 1996}}</ref> He was also one of the first members of the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame in 1978.<ref>{{cite web |title=Inductees by class |url=http://www.hawaiisportshalloffame.com/cms/index.php?page=class-year |publisher=Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame |access-date=April 26, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150720194244/http://www.hawaiisportshalloffame.com/cms/index.php?page=class-year |archive-date=July 20, 2015 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=AOBS Highest Achievement (Vic Boff) Award Recipients |url=http://www.weightlifting.org/honorees/highestachievement.htm |publisher=Association of Oldetime Barbell and Strongmen |access-date=April 26, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118034424/http://weightlifting.org/honorees/highestachievement.htm |archive-date=November 18, 2016 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Notable US Olympic Hall of Fame inductees |url=http://www.nbcsports.com/notable-us-olympic-hall-fame-inductees |access-date=April 26, 2016 |work=NBC Sports}}</ref> He was elected to the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame in 1993.<ref>{{cite web |title=Weightlifting Hall of Fame |work=International Weightlifting Federation |date=April 8, 2014 |publisher=International Weightlifting Federation |url=http://www.iwf.net/focus-on-iwf/hall-of-fame/members/ |access-date=April 25, 2016}}</ref> In 2005, the International Weightlifting Federation named Kono the "''Lifter of the Century''."<ref name=litsky>{{citation |last=Litsky |first=Frank |title=Tommy Kono, Weight-Lifting Champion Raised in Internment Camp, Dies at 85 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 29, 2016 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/30/sports/olympics/tommy-kono-weight-lifting-champion-raised-in-internment-camp-dies-at-85.html?hpw&rref=obituaries&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0}}</ref>

==Portrayals== Kono appeared in Universal Newsreel volume 32, number 63, August 6, 1959.<ref>"One of the world's outstanding men with the barbell is Tommy Kono of Honolulu, an Olympian and winner of many international honors. He has a good grip on the middleweight crown, lifting a total of 905 pounds in three lifts."</ref> He is depicted as part of a mural located at 37 West Philadelphia Street in York, Pennsylvania. This mural was finished in 2000.<ref>McClure, James, ed. (2002). "Murals of York". York Daily Record. York, Pennsylvania.</ref>

Kono's life was featured in the documentary: [http://www.tommykonostory.com/ "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 marking the anniversary of his birth in 2021.<ref>[https://doodles.google/doodle/tamio-tommy-konos-91st-birthday/ Tamio "Tommy" Kono's 91st Birthday, Sunday, June 27, 2021 &ndash; Google.] Retrieved June 27, 2021</ref>

==Death== Kono died on April 24, 2016, in Honolulu, Hawaii from complications of liver disease, aged 85.<ref name="Death" /> Survivors included his wife of 53 years, the former Florence Rodrigues of Honolulu, three children, and three grandchildren.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tommy Kono, two-time Olympic champion weightlifter, dies at 85 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/tommy-kono-two-time-olympic-champion-weightlifter-dies-at-85/2016/05/01/3adf9554-0edd-11e6-8ab8-9ad050f76d7d_story.html |date=May 1, 2016 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=June 30, 2021}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{Team USA Hall of Fame|new_id=tommy-kono|old_id=Tommy-Kono|archive=20230720073219}} * {{Olympics.com|org_archive=20160920165647}} * {{Olympedia}}

{{Footer Olympic Champions Weightlifting Lightweight}} {{Footer Olympic Champions Weightlifting Light heavyweight}} {{Footer World Champions Weightlifting Men Middleweight}} {{Footer World Champions Weightlifting Men Light heavyweight}} {{Footer Pan American Champions Weightlifting Middleweight Men}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kono, Tommy}} Category:1930 births Category:2016 deaths Category:American male weightlifters Category:American strength athletes Category:Weightlifters at the 1952 Summer Olympics Category:Weightlifters at the 1956 Summer Olympics Category:Weightlifters at the 1960 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in weightlifting Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States in weightlifting Category:World record setters in weightlifting Category:Japanese-American internees Category:Sportspeople from Sacramento, California Category:American people of Japanese descent Category:Sportspeople of Japanese descent Category:Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Category:Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Category:Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in weightlifting Category:People associated with physical culture Category:Weightlifters at the 1955 Pan American Games Category:Weightlifters at the 1959 Pan American Games Category:Weightlifters at the 1963 Pan American Games Category:World Weightlifting Championships medalists Category:Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games Category:Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games Category:Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games Category:United States Army soldiers Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:Deaths from liver disease