Tamio “Tommy” Kono became the only Olympic weightlifter to set world records in four different weight classes. He won gold at 67.5 kg in 1952 and at 82.5kg in 1956, earning silver at 75kg in 1960.
HAWAII’S OLYMPIANS
Since Duke Kahanamoku became the first to represent Hawaii in the Olympics 100 years ago, Hawaii has been well-represented in the Olympic Games. The Star-Advertiser will reflect on Olympics past each day leading up to the 2012 Games. Today, we focus on 1952, 1956, 1960.
» Peter George, silver
» Emerick Ishikawa
» Harold Sakata, silver
» Richard Tom, bronze
» Richard Tomita
1952: Helsinki
Swimming
» Richard Cleveland
» Evelyn Kawamoto Konno, 400 free bronze; 4×100 free relay bronze
» Ford Konno, 1,500 free gold (OR); 4×200 free relay gold (OR); 400 free silver
» Yoshinobu Oyakawa, 100 back gold (OR)
» Allen Stack
» William Woolsey, 4×200 relay gold (OR)
Weightlifting
» Peter George, gold (OR)
» Tommy Kono, gold (OR)
1956: Melbourne
Boxing
» Ray Perez
Equestrian
» Frank Duffy
Shooting
» John Beaumont
Swimming
» Caren Cone-Vanderbush, 100 back silver
» Ford Konno, co-captain, 4×200 relay silver
» George Onekea
» Yoshinobu Oyakawa, co-captain
» Richard “Sonny” Tanabe
» William Woolsey, 4×200 relay silver
Weightlifting
» Tommy Kono, gold
Peter George, silver
1960: Rome
Weightlifting
» Tommy Kono, silver
1964: Tokyo
Swimming
» Lillian “Pokey” Watson Richardson, 4×100 free
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Kono was born in Sacramento and spent part of his youth in the Tule Lake internment camp during World War II. It was in the camp that Kono was introduced to the sport and went on to win six consecutive world titles between 1953 and 1959, setting 21 world records.
Kono moved to Hawaii in 1970 and was head coach of the U.S. Olympic Weightlifting team in 1976. He was inducted into the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame in 1993.
» The 1952 Games in Helsinki had the distinction of seeing the most number of world records set, that is until 2008 in Beijing.
The Soviet Union sent a team to the Olympics for the first time, with its women’s team winning the first of eight consecutive gold medals. Israel also made its Olympic debut, and Germany and Japan were invited to return after being barred in 1948.
» The Olympics were held for the first time in the southern hemisphere in 1956 in Melbourne. Because of the horse quarantine, equestrian events were held five months earlier in Stockholm.
Australia dominated the swimming events, winning all of the freestyle races, men’s and women’s, and finished with 14 medals, including eight gold. The U.S. men’s track team not only won 15 of 24 races, the Americans finished 1-2-3 in five events.
The tradition of athletes from different nations walking together in the closing ceremonies instead of with their teams, as a symbol of world unity, started. It was inspired by a letter written to the Olympic organizers by Australian teen John Wing.
» Rome finally hosted the Olympics in 1960. The city had been awarded the Games in 1908 but the eruptions of Mount Vesuvius in 1906 moved the competition to London.
Female Soviet gymnasts won 15 of 16 possible medals, and American Wilma Rudolph, who had polio as a child, won three golds on the track. Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) won boxing’s light-heavyweight gold medal and in one of the memorable decathlon finishes, American Rafer Johnson edged out UCLA classmate and friend C.K. Yang (Yang Chuan-Kwang).
