Evelyn Kawamoto

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.

Evelyn Kawamoto
Kawamoto at the 1952 Olympics
Personal information
Full nameEvelyn Tokue Kawamoto
National team United States
Born(1933-09-17)September 17, 1933
Honolulu, Hawaii
DiedJanuary 22, 2017(2017-01-22) (aged 83)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubHawaii Swim Club

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.[1] On the final day of the 1952 U.S. Women’s Olympic Trials, she set the American record in the 400-meter freestyle.[1]

Kawamoto represented the United States at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, where she earned two bronze medals as an 18-year-old.[2] She received her first bronze in the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay, when the U.S. team of Jackie LaVine, Marilee Stepan, Jody Alderson and Kawamoto placed third behind the teams from Hungary and the Netherlands.[3][4] Individually, she set an Olympic record in the 400-meter freestyle in a preliminary heat[1] 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.[2][5]

She later married U.S. Olympic swimming gold medalist Ford Konno, who also competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics.[2] Kawamoto was inducted into the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.[6] She died in 2017 at the age of 83.[1]

See also

References
  1. 1952 Olympic Bronze Medalist Evelyn Toque Kawamoto-Kono Passes Away. SwimmingWorld Magazine
  2. Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes, Evelyn Kawamoto. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  3. Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, United States Swimming at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Games. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  4. Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Games, Women's 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  5. Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Swimming at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Games, Women's 400 metres Freestyle Final. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  6. "Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame: Inductees by Class". Retrieved 2017-02-10.


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