**In the 1950s and 1960s, Tamio "Tommy" Kono, a Japanese American, competed in weightlifting. He passed away on April 24, 2016. In the weight classes of lightweight (149 pounds or 67.5 kilogrammes),** middleweight (165 pounds or 75 kilograms), light-heavyweight (182 pounds or 82.5 kilogrammes), and middle-heavyweight, Kono established world records[1] (198 lb or 90 kg).






## Kono had asthma as a child but it was alleviated by the desert air.


[4] Neighbors, notably Noboru "Dave" Shimoda, a member of the Tule Lake weightlifting and bodybuilding club and the brother of Kono Shimoda, introduced Kono to weightlifting during the relocation.


## Career


Under the guidance of Bob Hoffman, Kono won gold at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics as well as a silver medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics.


From 1953 to 1959, Kono won the World Weightlifting Championships six times in a row. He also won the Pan American Games three times, in 1955, 1959, and 1963.



He was unable to compete in the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 1964 due to a knee injury, and the following year he gave up the sport.



He became the most accomplished American male weightlifter to date, setting a total of 26 world records and seven Olympic records.


## Awards


Along with winning titles in weightlifting and bodybuilding, Kono was a finalist for the James E. Sullivan Award, given annually to the best athlete in America, eight times.


In 1978, he was one of the inaugural inductees into the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame.


Kono was elected into the US Olympic Hall of Fame and awarded the Association of Oldetime Barbell and Strongmen's Highest Achievement Award in 1990.


[16] In 1993, he was chosen to be a member of the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame.


Kono received the "Lifter of the Century" title from the International Weightlifting Federation in 2005.


## Portrayals

Kono made an appearance on August 6, 1959, in Universal Newsreel volume 32, number 63.

[19] On York, Pennsylvania, at 37 West Philadelphia Street, he is portrayed in a mural. In 2000, this mural was completed. [20]


The summer 2016 documentary "Arnold Knows Me: The Tommy Kono Story" included a section about Kono's life. After premiering on KVIE (PBS) Sacramento, the movie was afterward broadcast in more than 50 (PBS-affiliated) areas across the nation.


A Google Doodle commemorating Kono's birth anniversary in 2021 featured a picture of him.


## Death

At the age of 85, Kono passed away from complications from liver disease in Honolulu, Hawaii, on April 24, 2016.

His 53-year-old wife, the former Florence Rodrigues of Honolulu, three children, and three grandchildren were among his survivors.

[22]

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> ## summary

> The summer 2016 documentary "Arnold Knows Me: The Tommy Kono Story" included a section about Kono's life. After premiering on KVIE (PBS) Sacramento, the movie was afterward broadcast in more than 50 (PBS-affiliated) areas across the nation.



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