When Tommy Kono braved adversity to win Olympic gold medals in weightlifting

Legendary weightlifter Tommy Kono made the United States of America (USA) proud after he won back-to-back gold medals in the Olympics. In the 1952 edition of the event in Helsinki, he bagged gold in the -67.5 kg category. Thereafter, in 1956, the athlete, who passed away in 2016, won the gold medal in the 82.5 kg category in Melbourne.

However, Tommy Kono had to survive tough days before he brought laurels. Aniket Mishra, a user on X, recently revealed a story about Kono’s journey from rags to riches. After World War II wreaked havoc around the world, Kono and his family had to relocate to a camp in the California desert.

For three years, they had to survive on one meal per day. But Kono did not give up. Instead, he rose like a phoenix from the ashes, battled all challenges, and showed the world what he was capable of. Kono also became the Mr World in 1954 and Mr Universe in 1955, 1957, and 1961.

Kono was a colossus in the World Weightlifting Championships after winning eight medals, including six gold in Stockholm (1953), Vienna (1954), Munich (1955), Teheran (1957), Stockholm (1958) and Warsaw (1959). He also won three gold medals in the Pan American Games in Mexico City (1955), Chicago (1959) and Sau Paulo (1963).

---

Tommy Kono - A legend in his own rights

Apart from his incredible run as a weightlifter, Tommy Kono also had an illustrious career as a coach. He coached Mexico, West Germany, and the USA for the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Olympics. Later, Kono was inducted into the Weightlifting Hall of Fame and the US Olympic Hall of Fame.

In 2016, Kono breathed his last after succumbing to complications of liver disease. He passed away at the age of 85 while being in Honolulu, Hawaii.