The 2018 Winter Olympics are set to kick off February 9th in Pyeongchang, South Korea. And while there’s plenty of excitement surrounding the games, one athlete already has his eyes set on gold. Tommy Kono, a Japanese weightlifter competing for the United States, won the bronze medal in the men’s 105kg category during the 2017 world championships. He followed up that performance with another victory at the Asian qualifying tournament, winning the gold medal. Now he’ll look to add a third consecutive win at the Winter Olympics.
Kono is no stranger to success. In 2016, he became the first man ever to complete a triple clean & jerk and snatch double (two lifts done consecutively without rest). He also holds records for most total medals (five), most total wins (four), and most total points (eighteen).
Early life of Tommy Kono
Kono was born in Sacramento, CA on June 27, 1930, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He had a difficult childhood because he was sickly as a child. In fact, it was the dry climate of the Central Valley that eventually led him to become an Olympic lifter. As a young man, Kono was a high school athlete in Sacramento, where he played baseball and basketball. However, he didn’t enjoy basketball much and chose to play baseball. During this period, he met some people who belonged to a local gym called the California Athletic Club. They encouraged Kono to join the gym and began teaching him how to lift weights. This training paid off, as he became one of the best lifters in the area.
When World War 2 broke out, Kono joined the US Army. But shortly afterwards, he was sent home due to health reasons. While still in the army, he trained hard every day. He continued lifting weights even though he wasn’t allowed to train anymore. By the end of the war, he won the National Amateur Weightlifting Championship. At the same time, he was selected to represent the United States at the 1948 Summer Olympics. Unfortunately, he injured himself before the Games started and couldn’t compete.
After returning from the Olympics, Kono went back to college and earned a degree in physical education. He then taught physical education classes at several schools in California. It was here that he met his wife, Mary. Together they have two children: Tom Jr., who works as a coach, and Karen, who teaches elementary school.
Career of Tommy Kono
Kono was born in San Francisco, California, on November 25, 1928, and grew up in Oakland, California. His father died when he was young, and his mother raised him alone. She had been a gymnast and taught her son how to lift weights. At age 12, he began lifting weights seriously, and soon joined the Golden Gate Gym in San Francisco. In 1948, at age 14, he traveled to Los Angeles to compete in the National AAU Junior Nationals, where he placed second in the lightweight class.
In 1949, he moved to New York City to train with Bob Hoffman, one of the leading coaches in the country. Hoffman coached Kono in the early 1950s, including at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, where Kono took home a gold medal in the light heavyweight category.
After the tournament, Hoffman suggested that Kono move to Los Angeles to train full-time, which Kono did. Kono went on to win five consecutive national championships, four in the Light Heavyweight division and one in the Middleweight Division.
He competed successfully in the 1955 Pan American Games in Mexico City, placing third in the Light Heavyweight category. Kono went on a tour of Japan, competing in major international competitions there, and was named Best All-Around Athlete of the Year in Japan.
Kono returned to the United States in 1958 and continued to compete in the Light Heavyweight Division. He won the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championship in the Light Heavyweight Category in 1959, and again in 1960. In 1962, he won the AAU Championship in the Middleweight division. Kono went on another tour of Japan, competing against some of the best athletes in the world, and was named Best Male Athlete of the Year there.
At the end of the 1960 season, Kono was invited to compete in the 1962 Intercontinental Cup, held in Rome, Italy. There, he broke the world record in the middleweight division with a lift of 500 pounds. This record stood for over 20 years, and is still considered one of the greatest lifts ever performed. The next day, Kono lifted 575 pounds, setting another world record.
Kono retired from competitive weightlifting in 1965 due to a knee injury. He remained active in the sport, however, and served as head coach of the U.S. Men’s Weightlifting Team at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
Awards of Tommy Kono
Kono won 8 AAU Mr. America titles in the early 1950s. He also won the AAU Mr. Universe title three times in 1954, 1955, and 1956. He set world records in the bench press, squat, deadlift, total lift, and clean & jerk.
In 1958, he became the first man to win the AAU World Championships in both the bench press and the total lift. He also won the Pan-Am Games gold medal in 1959.
He was the first American lifter to compete in the Olympics in 1960, where he placed third in the bench press. His performance helped him qualify for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, where he finished seventh in the same event.
In 1965, he won the AAU World Championships again. He retired in 1968 due to injuries.
Portrayals
Kono was portrayed in the movie, “The Last Samurai,” directed by Edward Zwick. In the film, he was played by Japanese actor Ken Watanabe.
In the film, Kono was portrayed as a samurai warrior, who had been trained since childhood to fight against the British. After being captured by the British, he escaped and joined up with Lord Dunmore, another former samurai, in fighting against the British forces during the American Revolution.
Watanabe received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 2004 Academy Awards for his portrayal of Kono. At the ceremony, he lost out to Sean Connery for playing James Bond in “Casino Royale.”
Death
Kono died on April 24,2016 in Honolulu, Hawaii from compliations of liver disease, aged 84. His wife of 53 years, the former Florence Rodrigues ofHonolulu,three children,and three grand children survived him.
What was Tommy Kono Famous for ?
The men’s weightlifting team won gold medals in five consecutive Olympics from 1952 to 1960. They became the most successful Olympic weightlifters ever. In addition to those five gold medals, the US weightlifters earned silver medals in three additional games. Their total medal count stands at 22 gold medals, 16 silvers and 11 bronzes.
