Evelyn Tokue Kawamoto (September 17, 1933 – January 22, 2017), also known by her married name Evelyn Konno, was an American competition
swimmer
Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...
and two-time Olympic medalist.
In 1949, Kawamoto broke the American record in the 300-meter individual medley (IM) and 200-meter breaststroke on the same day. A month later, she won both events at the US Nationals.
[ On the final day of the 1952 U.S. Women's Olympic Trials, she set the American record in the 400-meter freestyle.][
Kawamoto represented the United States at the ]1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
in Helsinki, where she earned two bronze medals as an 18-year-old.[Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes]
Evelyn Kawamoto
Retrieved November 24, 2012. She received her first bronze in the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay, when the U.S. team of Jackie LaVine
Jacqueline Carol LaVine (born October 4, 1929) is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic medalist.
LaVine won her first medal in international competition, a gold, at the 1951 Pan American Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Sports-Refe ...
, Marilee Stepan, Jody Alderson and Kawamoto placed third behind the teams from Hungary and the Netherlands. Individually, she set an Olympic record in the 400-meter freestyle in a preliminary heat[ and received a second bronze for her third-place performance in the women's 400-meter freestyle behind Hungarian swimmers Valéria Gyenge and Éva Novák.][Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Games]
Women's 400 metres Freestyle Final
Retrieved November 24, 2012.
She later married U.S. Olympic swimming gold medalist Ford Konno
Ford Hiroshi Konno (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 Ho ...
, who also competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics.[ Kawamoto was inducted into the ]Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame
The Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame is a sports hall of fame and museum in the U.S. state of Hawaii. According to the hall's official website, it servers as the "state museum for sports history in the islands," and "is best described as an educational ...
in 2000. She died in 2017 at the age of 83.[1952 Olympic Bronze Medalist Evelyn Toque Kawamoto-Kono Passes Away]
''SwimmingWorld Magazine''
See also
* List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women)
This is the complete list of women's Olympic medalists in swimming.
Current program
50 metre freestyle
100 metre freestyle
200 metre freestyle
400 metre freestyle
800 metre freestyle
1500 metre freestyle
100 metre backstroke
20 ...
References
1933 births
2017 deaths
American female freestyle swimmers
American sportswomen
American sportspeople of Japanese descent
Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming
Swimmers at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Swimmers from Honolulu
21st-century American women
Hawaii people of Japanese descent
{{US-swimming-bio-stub