Tommy Kono Biography, Wikipedia, Facts
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Tommy Kono was a Japanese American weightlifter. He also made 26 world records in his career. He is known as one of the greatest weightlifters in American history.
Today Google has honored him in the form of a doodle on the occasion of his birthday.
Who is Tommy Kono?
Tommy Kono was born on 27th June, 1930 in Sacramento, California. He belonged to a Japanese family. At the time of world war 2, he and his family along with 1,20,000 Japanese were detained in US camps by US government.
He completed his schooling from California itself. Along with his junior college, he also worked in the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
He was introduced to weightlifting by his neighbor. Kono then work harder and practiced more to win titles.
Tommy was weightlifter for 10 years from 1950 to 1960. He died on 24 April 2016 due to liver disease.
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Tommy Kono Biography | Wikipedia | Facts
Full Name | Tommy Kono |
Birth Date | 27 June, 1930 |
Birth Place | Sacramento, California, U.S. |
Death Date | 24 April, 2016 |
Age | 86 Years |
Profession | Weightlifting |
Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Kono |
Weightlifting Career
Tommy won gold medals at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics. He managed to win the silver medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics. He also won the World Weightlifting Championships for six consecutive times.
In 1964, he could not participate in the Summer Olympics due to Knee Injury and with this he declared his retirement.
Kono made a total of 26 world records in his career and also made 7 Olympic records. He is by far the best weightlifter in American history. He was also awarded with Mr. Universe titles in 1954, 1955, 1957 and 1961.
After retirement, he started giving coaching.
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