KONO, TOMMY

born June 27, 1930, Sacramento, Calif., U.S. byname of Tamio Kono American weight lifter who won Olympic medals in three different weight divisions. An asthmatic child, Kono and his parents were among the Japanese-Americans interned at Tule Lake, Calif., during World War II. Kono's health improved in the dry desert air; he began a weight-lifting regimen and by 1952 he was an important member of the U.S. national team. He was particularly valuable to the team because he was able to increase and decrease his weight without a loss of strength and thus could compete at various weight classes. Kono took national titles as a lightweight (1952), a middleweight (1953), and a light heavyweight (195456, 196164). Kono won Olympic gold medals as a lightweight at the 1952 Games in Helsinki, Fin., and as a light heavyweight at the 1956 Games in Melbourne, Australia, and won a silver as a middleweight at the 1960 Games in Rome. He was the only weight lifter to set world records in four different weight classes. He is a member of the Olympic Hall of Fame.