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Olympic icon Tommy Kono
// USOC Media Services // December 11, 2006
Olympic Sport: Weightlifting
Olympic Games Attended: Helsinki1952, Melbourne 1956, Rome 1960
Olympic Medals: Lightweight (gold)—Helsinki; Lightheavyweight (gold)—Melbourne; Middleweight (silver)—Rome
Additional Accomplishments: Inducted into the U.S. Weightlifting and Olympic Halls of Fame, IWF Lifter of the Century, 26 World records, 7 Olympic records and 8 Pan American records
The only weightlifter ever to set world records in four different weight classes, Tamio "Tommy" Kono suffered from asthma as a child. Born June 27, 1930, Kono and his parents were among the Japanese-Americans interned at Tule Lake, CA, during World War II, where his health improved markedly because of the dry desert air.
Beginning in 1952, Kono was an important member of the U. S. national team because of his ability to move up or down in weight without losing strength, allowing him to compete in the classification where the team needed help.
Kono is arguably the greatest Olympic weightlifter the world has ever seen. He established world records in four body weight classes: lightweight (148 pounds), middleweight (165), light-heavyweight (181), and middleheavyweight(198). Only two years after beginning Olympic lifting, he made the highest total of any lightweight lifter in the United States. Within four years of his first contest, he won the gold medal at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland.
He was world champion every year from 1953 through 1959, which included a second gold medal at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, followed by a silver medal in Rome in 1960. He established 26 world records and seven Olympic records. As if that wasn’t enough, he also won the "Mr. World" physique title and was three times crowned "Mr. Universe."
After retirement from lifting, Kono became the national and Olympic coach for Mexico (1966–1968), West Germany (1969–1972), and the United States (1976). He continued to coach U.S. teams for several decades, including the U.S. team at the inaugural Women's World Championship in 1987, a competition that set the stage for the inclusion of women weightlifters in the Olympic Games, which happened for the first time at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
Kono has remained active as an International Weightlifting Federation coach and referee. In 1994, he was inducted into the International Weightlifting Hall of Fame at the International Olympic Committee headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. In 1996, Kono was one of 100 Golden Olympians invited as special guests of the Atlanta Olympic Games.
Kono was known for his ability to "psych out" opponents. Fyodor Bogdanovasky of the Soviet Union once said of him, "When Kono looks at me from the wings, he works on me like a python on a rabbit."
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