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Ford Konno

Ford Konno
Konno at the 1952 Olympics
Personal information
Full nameFord Hiroshi Konno
National team United States
Born (1933-01-01) January 1, 1933 (age 91)
Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, U.S.[1]
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight150 lb (68 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubU.S. Army[1]
College teamOhio State University
CoachYoshito Sagawa
Mike Peppe[2]
Medal record
Representing the United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1952 Helsinki 1500 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1952 Helsinki 4×200 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 1952 Helsinki 400 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 1956 Melbourne 4×200 m freestyle
Representing Ohio State
NCAA
Gold medal – first place 1952 Princeton Team event
Gold medal – first place 1952 Princeton 440 yard freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1952 Princeton 1,500 yard freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1954 Syracuse Team title
Gold medal – first place 1954 Syracuse 440 yard freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1954 Syracuse 1,500 yard freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1955 Oxford Team title
Gold medal – first place 1955 Oxford 440 yard freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1955 Oxford 1,500 yard freestyle

Ford Hiroshi Konno (Japanese: 紺野 弘,[3] born January 1, 1933) is a Japanese–American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in three events.

Konno was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He attended McKinley High School in Honolulu, and swam for the McKinley Tigers high school swim team. He later received an athletic scholarship to attend Ohio State University, where he swam for the Ohio State Buckeyes swimming and diving team under Hall of Fame Coach Mike Peppe in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition. Konno set world records of 2:03.9 in the 200-meter and 4:26.7 in the 400-meter freestyle during 1954 college meets.[4]

Konno won four medals at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics. At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, Konno won gold medals in the men's 1,500-meter freestyle and the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. His time of 18:30:3 in the 1,500 freestyle was a new Olympic record. He also won a silver medal in the 400-meter freestyle. Four years later at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, he won a silver in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay.

After graduating from Ohio State University, Konno worked as a high school teacher and swimming coach on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, and later became division manager for an equity life insurance company. In 1972 he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Earlier he married a fellow 1952 Olympic medalist Evelyn Kawamoto; they have two daughters.[1][2]

See also

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References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ford Konno.
  1. ^ a b c Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Ford Konno". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on August 4, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Ford Konno (USA)". ISHOF.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 12, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  3. ^ "Kakushu Jji = Colorado Times August 5, 1950 — Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection".
  4. ^ "HickokSports.com Sports Biographies: Konno, Ford H." Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2007.
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Records
Preceded by Men's 200-meter freestyle
world record-holder (long course)
February 27, 1954 – March 4, 1955 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Men's 400-meter freestyle
world record-holder (long course)
April 3, 1954 – January 12, 1957 		Succeeded by