Evelyn Tokue Kawamoto (September 17, 1933 – January 22, 2017), also known by her married name Evelyn Konno, was an American competition swimmer 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-Ref ...

, 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 in 2000. She died in 2017 at the age of 83.1952 Olympic Bronze Medalist Evelyn Toque Kawamoto-Kono Passes Away
''SwimmingWorld Magazine''

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

See also

References