Ford Konno

Who is Ford Konno?

Ford Hiroshi Konno is an 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 in National Collegiate Athletic Association 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.

He 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.

Konno is married to fellow 1952 Olympic medalist Evelyn Kawamoto. He is a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame.