Each month ISHOF will feature an Honoree and some of their aquatic memorabilia, that they have so graciously either given or loaned to us. Since we are closed, and everything is in storage, we wanted to still be able to highlight some of the amazing artifacts that ISHOF has and to be able to share these items with you. We begin the New Year, January 2025, with Honoree FORD KONNO, 1972 Honor Swimmer, USA. Konno donated many fabulous things to ISHOF and we want to share them with you now. Below is his ISHOF Honoree bio that was written the year he was inducted, 1972, so its a bit outdated. Ford is still alive, and will turn 92 on January 1.
Country: USA
Honoree Type: Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1952 gold (1500 freestyle; 800m freestyle relay), silver (400m freestyle); 1956 silver (800m freestyle relay); NATIONAL AAU Titles: 18; NCAA Titles: 6; BIG TEN Titles: 10; World and American Records at 7 distances (from 200m to 1500m).
Ford Konno was only 5’ 6 1/2″ tall, so he always preferred the top step of the victory stand — a position he grew accustomed to through 18 National AAU titles and two Olympic gold medals.
Konno’s early career was a game of catch-up with several of the world’s all-time great middle distance freestylers.
In 1949, the great Japanese world record holders Furuhashi and Hashizume stopped in Honolulu on their way home from Los Angeles, and Konno got a good rear view — ditto in 1950 when he placed second behind the great Australian John Marshall in both the mile and the 800 meter freestyle at the Seattle U.S. Nationals.
Based on this second place finish, Konno was picked to be on the first post-war (WWII) U.S. team to swim in Japan. As a member of this U.S. Team, he beat all three of his earlier conquerors at 1500 meter and 800 yard freestyle races in Tokyo and Osaka.
A year later, while still a high school student in Honolulu, he swam his first world record in the 440 yd. freestyle. In the fall of 1951, he enrolled at Ohio State with coach Mike Peppe and a distinguished college career of six NCAA and 10 Big Ten titles.
He returned to train under his long-time Hawaiian coach Yoshito Sagawa for the 1952 Olympic Trials at Flushing Meadows, and barely made the men’s team due to a serious sinus infection. The infection was gone by the time he got to Helsinki where he again beat his famed Australian and Japanese rivals to set world and Olympic records in the 1500 and in anchoring the USA’s gold medal 800 meter freestyle relay. He placed 2nd to the great Frenchman Jean Boiteaux in the 400 meter freestyle.
Ford Konno’s silver medal in the 1956 Olympics (800 freestyle relay) gave him a total of 2 gold and 2 silver. During his career, he held World and American records at 7 distances from 200 to 1500 meters.
After graduating from Ohio State, Ford Konno became a high school teacher and swim coach on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. He married former swimmer Evelyn Kawamoto, his 1952 Olympic teammate. The Konnos now have 2 daughters to welcome “father” home from the office where he is a Division Manager for Investors Equity Life Insurance Company.