2002 INDUCTION CEREMONY & DINNER
Hawai'i Swimming Hall of Fame's inaugural event was held on November 23, 2002. 17 people were inducted, along with 33 legendary figures who were posthumously inducted. Bios for the class of 2002 can be found further below HERE.
|
COMPETETIVE SWIMMING:
Fujiko Katsutani Evelyn Kawamoto Ford Konno Chieko "Chic" Miyamoto Keo Nakama Bill Smith Lillian "Pokey" Watson Bill Woolsey |
OPEN WATER & CHANNEL:
Dr. Harry Huffaker Keo Nakama MASTERS: Dr. Harold Sexton Jim Welch DIVING: Keala O'Sullivan |
WATER POLO:
Leigh Josephson Ken Smith COACH: Albert Minn CONTRIBUTOR: Miriam LarRieu |
POSTHUMOUSLY INDUCTED
Year(s) they participated in the Olympics are shown after their names. Bios can be found further below HERE.
Year(s) they participated in the Olympics are shown after their names. Bios can be found further below HERE.
|
SWIMMING:
Jose Balmores Richard Cleveland, 1952 Clarence "Buster" Crabbe, 1928, 1932 J.K. Gilman Bill Harris, 1920 Halo Hirose Duke Kahanamoku, 1912, 1920, 1924, 1932 Sam Kahanamoku, 1924 Fred Kahele, 1920 Thelma Kalama, 1948 Manuella Kalili, 1932 Maiola Kalili, 1932 George Kane |
SWIMMING:
Pua Kealoha, 1920, 1924 Warren Kealoha, 1920, 1924 William "Bill" Kirschbaum, 1924 Harold Kruger, 1920, 1924 Ludy Langer, 1920 Henry Luning, 1924 Helen Moses, 1920 Bunmei Nakama Charles Pung, 1924 Allen Stack, 1948, 1952 Aileen Riggin-Soule, 1920, 1924 Jimmy Tanaka Mariechen Wehselau, 1924 |
CHANNEL SWIMMING:
William "Opelu" Pai COACHING: George "Dad" Center, 1920 Charles "Sparky" Kawamoto Yoshito Sagawa Soichi Sakamoto CONTRIBUTOR: Ellen Fullard-Leo Dr. Richard You |
BIOS: CLASS OF 2002
(Listed alphabetically)
|
HARRY HUFFAKER
Dr. Harry Huffaker, born in Idaho, was an All-American swimmer at the University of Michigan. He came to Hawaii after completing dental school and became one of the most prolific channel swimmers in Hawaii. Among his numerous accomplishments, he swam the Kaiwi Channel from Molokai to Oahu in 1967 then he was the first person to swim the thirty-mile Alenuihaha Channel from Hawaii island to Maui in 1970. In 1972 he became the first person to swim the “reverse” Kaiwi Channel from Oahu to Molokai. In 1987 Harry swam the 8.8-mile Auau Channel from Lanai to Maui, then swam it again twice in 1989. In 1989 he became the first person to swim the Kalohi Channel from Molokai to Lanai. |
|
LEIGH JOSEPHSON
Leigh D. Josephson grew up in California where he learned to swim and surf, but his dream was always to live in Hawaii. After a tour in the Navy, including service in the Korean War, and completing college at UC-Berkeley, he found a teaching job at Iolani School where he taught mathematics, and he coached the Iolani water polo and swimming teams until his retirement after 30 years. In his spare time he still swims, surfs and bodysurfs. |
|
FUJIKO KATSUTANI
Fujiko “Fudgie” Katsutani (later Matsui) began training under legendary coach Soichi Sakamoto in the “Three-Year Swim Club” on Maui beginning when she was twelve years old and dedicated herself to swimming in the Olympics. In 1940 at age fourteen she was first in the 200-meter breaststroke at the national AAU championships and qualified for a spot on the 1940 Olympic Swim Team. However, the games were cancelled due to World War II. She passed away in 2009 at age 84. |
|
EVELYN KAWAMOTO
Evelyn Tokue Kawamoto (later Konno), born and raised in Hawaii, swam for the USA as a member of the 1952 Olympic Swim Team in the Helsinki Olympics and won two bronze medals, one in the 400-meter freestyle and another in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay team. In doing so she became the first Japanese American woman to win an Olympic medal. In addition she won eight national AAU championship medals and was recognized as an AAU All-American swimmer. She was married to fellow Olympian Ford Konno. She passed away in 2017 at the age of 83. |
|
FORD KONNO
Ford Konno, born and raised in Hawaii, was a member of the 1952 US Olympic Swim Team in the Helsinki Olympics and won a gold medal in the 1500-meter freestyle race, setting world and Olympic records at the time. He won a second gold in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay and a silver in the 400-meter freestyle. In 1956 he again made the US Olympic Swim Team and won a silver in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. In his high school and college career he set world and national records at seven distances from 200 to 1500 meters. He also won 18 national AAU titles, six NCAA and ten Big 10 championships at Ohio State University. |
|
MIRIAM LAR RIEU
Miriam H. LarRieu, a resident of Walnut Creek, California, was a philanthropist and contributor to her community. Her donation to the Hawaii Swimming Legacy Project, parent organization of the Hawaii Swimming Hall of Fame, was instrumental in its founding and financial stability. In addition, she was a major fund raiser for the John Muir Hospital, the Regional Center for Arts, the Walnut Creek Historical Society, and the Mount Diablo Therapy Center. She formed the Motor Corps for the American Red Cross and founded the Thrift Shop for the American Cancer Society. |
|
AL MINN
Albert P.S. Minn, born and raised in Hawaii, was a coach at all levels of swimming from age group to college. In addition to coaching, he was a teacher, vice-principal, principal, and athletic director at various schools throughout the State of Hawaii. He coached the University of Hawaii women’s swim team in 1986 to a conference championship. Al was the assistant coach for the US Olympic Swim Team, 1978-1986. He also was the head coach for the winning West Swim Team at the Goodwill Games in 1986. He passed away in 2017 at the age of 92. |
|
CHIC MIYAMOTO
Chieko “Chic” Miyamoto (later Enos), born and raised on Maui, was a member of the “Three-Year Swim Club” which was dedicated to swimming in the 1940 Olympics under famed coach Soichi Sakamoto. They trained in the plantation irrigation ditches in Puunene, Maui. She was just thirteen when she won the 300-yard individual medley at the 1940 AAU National Championships and was named an AAU All-American swimmer. She continued swimming throughout the war years then at the University of Hawaii when Coach Sakamoto became head coach. She passed away in 2014 at the age of 88. |
|
KEO NAKAMA
Kiyoshi “Keo” Nakama, born and raised on Maui, was a member of Coach Soichi Sakamoto’s Three-Year Swim Club. He missed the Olympics when they were cancelled due to WW II but swam for Ohio State University. His swimming career included a world record time of 20:29 in the mile swim, Big Ten Conference titles at OSU, and numerous national and international titles. However, he is best known for swimming the Kaiwi Channel from the island of Molokai to Oahu, at age 40, in September 1961, the first person to verifiably accomplish this feat. He was later elected to the Hawaii State House of Representatives, where he served for five terms until 1974. He was inducted into the Hawaii Waterman Hall of Fame in 2010. He passed away in 2011 at the age of 91. |
|
KEALA O'SULLIVAN
Rachel Kealaonapua "Keala" O'Sullivan (later Watson), born and raised in Hawaii, won the U.S. Junior AAU one-meter board diving championship in 1965 and represented the US at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics weeks after graduating from Punahou School. She earned a bronze medal in the three-meter springboard diving event. She was trained by long-time coach Wally Nakamoto (HSHOF Class of 2003). After retiring from competitive diving, she became a diving coach for several schools in Honolulu. |
|
HAROLD SEXTON
Harold Miller Sexton, M.D., born and raised in Hilo, swam for Punahou, Menlo Junior College (1934–35), and the University of Oregon (1936-37) where he was one of the top 440-yard swimmers on the west coast and swam in the 1936 Olympic Trials. He earned his MD in 1941 from Tufts University and served as a Naval medical officer in WW II. In 1974, nearing retirement in Hawaii but overweight and suffering medical problems, he started to compete in Masters swimming, achieving All-American honors, 1974-85 and setting three national records; 1980: World Medical Games – won three 1st, two 2nd and one 3rd place; 1981: National AAU Meet: 1st in four events. 1990: National AAU Meet: 1st, 100 meter free. He passed away in 2003 at the age of 88. |
|
BILL SMITH
William Melvin Smith Jr. was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, but moved to Maui to train under famed Coach Soichi Sakamoto. He later attended Ohio State University and was a four-time All-American. He set seven world records and won fourteen U.S. national championships: seven NCAA, six AAU indoor and one AAU outdoor. At the 1948 London Olympics, Smith won gold medals in the 400-meter freestyle and 4×200-meter freestyle relay. At one time, Smith held all of the world records in freestyle swimming events from 200 to 1,000 meters. He passed away in 2013 at the age of 88. |
|
KEN SMITH
Ken Smith, born and raised in California, was an NCAA All-American water polo player at UCLA who played on NCAA championship teams in both 1966 and 1967. Upon receiving his master’s in PE from UCLA he accepted a position as a teacher and water polo coach at Punahou School in Honolulu. He started coaching the Punahou School’s boys’ water polo team in 1972 then the girls’ team in 1995 and continued coaching until his retirement in 2017. Many of his water polo players went on to become collegiate All-Americans and Olympians, including Maureen Cole, Chris Duplanty, Sean Kern, and Brandon Brooks, all of whom are in the Hawaii Swimming Hall of Fame. |
|
POKEY WATSON
Lillian “Pokey” Debra Watson (later Richardson), born in New York, came to Hawaii after marrying Dr. Allen Richardson (HSHOF Class of 2015). She swam in two Olympics and won a gold medal in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics as a member of the 4x100-meter freestyle relay team. She won a second gold in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics in the 200-meter backstroke where she set an Olympic record. She also earned 26 titles in the AAU Nationals, a bronze in the 1967 PAN AMERICAN GAMES, and set 42 national records in all distances from 100 yards to 500 meters. She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1984 and the Hawaii Waterman Hall of Fame in 2017. |
|
JIM WELCH (Also inducted for Channel & Open Water Swimming in 2003)
Jim W. Welch, born and raised in Florida, was a bomber pilot in WW II and served in the military until his retirement in 1970 at Hickam AFB. He was a lifelong swimmer and became a US Masters swimming record holder and champion and was named to the Masters All-American swimming team a total of 17 times. He was also an accomplished open water swimmer with 8 first place and 6 second place finishes in his age group in the Waikiki Roughwater Swim. Jim also served as president of the Waikiki Swim Club, 1973-74. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 98. |
|
BILL WOOLSEY
William Tripp Woolsey, born and raised in Hawaii, graduated from McKinley High (’52) and Indiana University. He represented the US at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics where he won a gold medal as a member of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Four years later at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, he won a silver medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Woolsey swam for coach Doc Counsilman's Indiana Hoosiers swim team which won several Big Ten Conference and NCAA Championships. He also won a bronze medal at the 1959 PAN AMERICAN GAMES. He is an Army veteran and married to fellow HSHOF inductee, Julia Murakami, Class of 2012. |
BIOS: POSTHUMOUS INDUCTEES
|
JOSE BALMORES
Jose Deniega Balmores (1923-1996) was born in the Philippines, but his family moved to Maui to work on the sugar plantation. He was one of the original members of famed Coach Soichi Sakamoto’s Three-Year Swim Club established in 1937 in Puunene, Maui, which had a goal of competing in the 1940 Olympics (unfortunately cancelled due to WW II). Jose was outstanding in all strokes and the individual medley and was named to the 1939, 1940, and 1941 All-American National Swimming Teams. After serving in WW II in the Philippines he attended Ohio State University and was named to the 1950-51 All-American Collegiate Swimming Team. |
|
GEORGE "DAD" CENTER
George “Dad” Center (1886-1962) was coach of the 1920 US Olympic swim team on which eight swimmers with Hawaii ties were members, including Bill Harris, Duke Kahanamoku, Fred Kahele, Pua Kealoha, Warren Kealoha, Stubby Kruger, Ludy Langer, and Helen Moses. The team won eight golds out of ten events and a total of 16 medals overall. He was also heavily involved in promoting the sports of canoe paddling and volleyball in Hawaii. He was elected to the International Swimming Hall of Fame as a “Pioneer Swimming Coach,” the Hawaii Waterman Hall of Fame, and the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame. |
|
RICHARD CLEVELAND
Richard “Spoofy” Fitch Cleveland (1929–2002) was once considered the “Fastest Human Swimmer in the World,” simultaneously holding four world records in the men’s 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, and 400-meter freestyle relay. He attended Ohio State University, where set four NCAA records, three Big Ten Conference records and was an AAU First Team All-American six times. At the 1951 Pan American Games he won gold medals in the men's 3×100-meter medley relay, 4×200-meter freestyle relay, and 100-meter freestyle. He qualified for the US Olympic Swim Team at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki in the 100-meter free. He was elected to the International Swimming Hall of Fame, the Ohio State University Sports Hall of Fame, and the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame. |
|
BUSTER CRABBE
Clarence “Buster” Linden Crabbe II (1908–1983) was born in California but grew up in Hawaii and graduated from Punahou School. He competed in two Olympic Games: at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics he won the bronze medal in the 1,500-meter freestyle, and at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, he won the gold medal for the 400-meter free. He attended the University of Southern California, where he was the school's first All-American swimmer in 1931. He was elected to the International Swimming Hall of Fame and to the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame. WORLD RECORDS: 16; NATIONAL RECORDS: 35. After retiring from competitive swimming he went on to a long career as a movie actor and promoted the Buster Crabbe Aqua Parade. |
|
ELLEN FULLARD-LEO
Ellen Fullard-Leo (1884-1974) was named the "greatest leader in the history of Hawaii amateur sports" by the Honolulu Advertiser. She was the first woman on the National Executive Committee of the Amateur Athletic Union and former member of the U.S. Olympic Executive Committee. She was also a pioneer in women's rights. She was born in South Africa to missionary parents, and she founded the first women's swim club in Johannesburg in 1908. She became a long-time resident of Hawaii and won awards from the International Olympic Committee, the National AAU, the Hawaii AAU, and the City of Honolulu for her service and contributions to amateur sports. She was a former director of AAU in Hawaii and was among the first inductees of the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame. In addition to being an amateur athletics pioneer, she was named Honolulu's "Mother of the Year" in 1972. |
|
J. K. GILMAN
Joseph Gilman was a contemporary of Duke Kahanamoku in Hawaii and won many swim races in local competition; he was a strong contender for the 1916 Olympics which were cancelled due to WW I. |
|
BILL HARRIS
William “Bill” White Harris, Jr. (1897–1961) represented the USA at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics. He competed in the men's 100-meter freestyle and won the bronze medal. He also swam in the men's 400-meter freestyle and advanced to the event semifinal. The 100-meter freestyle final at the 1920 Olympics was controversial because Australian Bill Herald claimed that American Norman Ross had fouled him in the first race, so it was swum again five days later. Bill Harris finished third in each race. He was also a finalist in the 400-meter free but did not medal. |
|
HALO HIROSE
Takashi "Halo" Hirose (1922-2002) was in the Three-Year Swim Club founded by Coach Soichi Sakamoto in 1937, and he became the first Japanese American to represent the US in international swimming competition and the first to set a swimming world record (as a member of the US 4×100-meter freestyle relay team in 1938). In 1941 he won the national AAU 800-meter freestyle relay championship in record time and the national 100-meter freestyle title. He trained for the 1940 Olympics, but they were canceled because of WW II. He served in the war as a member of the 442nd Infantry Regiment and the 100th Infantry Battalion. After the war he attended Ohio State University, where he was an All-American three times, an NCAA champion in the 100 free, and helped Ohio State win Big Ten, NCAA, and AAU team titles. In 1987, he was inducted into Ohio State University's Sports Hall of Fame, and in 2017, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as a "Pioneer Swimmer." |
|
DUKE KAHANAMOKU
Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku (1890–1968) was a five-time Olympic medalist in swimming, winning medals in 1912, 1920 and 1924. In the 1912 Stockholm Olympics he won gold in the 100-meter freestyle and silver in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay. The 1916 Olympics were cancelled due to WW I, but in the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, he won gold medals in both the 100-meter free (it was a sweep for Hawaii swimmers with Pua Kealoha winning silver and Bill Harris, bronze) and in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. In 1924 at the Paris Olympics, he won a silver in the 100-meter free, with the gold going to Johnny Weissmuller and the bronze to Kahanamoku's brother, Samuel. In 1932 he qualified for the Los Angeles Olympics as an alternate on the US water polo team although he did not medal. In addition to swimming Duke had worldwide impact in surfing, canoe paddling, sailing, and volleyball and was elected to the International Swimming Hall of Fame, the US Olympic Hall of Fame, the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame, and the Hawaii Waterman Hall of Fame. |
|
SAM KAHANAMOKU
Samuel Alapai Kahanamoku (1902–1966) was a member of the US Olympic swim team which competed at the 1924 Paris Olympics. He was one of ten swimmers with Hawaii ties, including older brother, Duke; they both competed in the men's 100-meter freestyle event which was won by gold medalist Johnny Weissmuller, with Duke winning the silver and Sam, the bronze. The US team won a total of 19 medals in swimming including 9 golds. |
|
FRED KAHELE
Frederick K. Kahele (1900–1976) represented the United States at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. He competed in the men's 400-meter freestyle and advanced to the event final; he finished fourth overall. He also swam in the finals of the men's 1,500-meter freestyle and finished in fourth. |
|
THELMA KALAMA
Thelma “Keko” H. Kalama (1931–1999), later known by her married name Thelma Aiu, trained under legendary coach Soichi Sakamoto and qualified for the 1948 London Olympics at age 17. She won a gold medal in the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay. She had placed fourth at both the 100-meter and 400-meter freestyle events at the US Olympic Trials, which earned her place on the relay team at the Olympics. Highlights of her swimming career include three AAU titles and setting an American record for the 400-meter freestyle. Kalama later joined the Marine Corps, rising to the rank of sergeant. She was inducted into the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. |
|
MAIOLA KALILI
Maiola Kalili (1909–1972) represented the US at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He received a silver medal as a member of the second-place US swim team in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay, together with teammates Frank Booth, George Fissler and Manuella Kalili, his younger brother. He was inducted into the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame. |
|
MANUELLA KALILI
Manuella Kalili (1912–1969) was on the US Olympic swim team which competed at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. He was a member of the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay where he won a silver medal with fellow Americans Frank Booth, George Fissler and Maiola Kalili, his older brother. Individually, he also placed fourth overall in the men's 100-meter freestyle. He was inducted into the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame. |
|
GEORGE KANE
George Kane was a contemporary of Duke Kahanamoku in Hawaii and won many swim races in local competition; he was a strong contender for the 1916 Olympics which were cancelled due to WW I. |
|
CHARLES "SPARKY" KAWAMOTO
Charles "Sparky" Kawamoto founded and coached the Shinmachi Town Swimming Club in Hilo, Hawaii, in the 1930s. It was later renamed the Hilo Aquatics Club. He trained future swimming champions Yoshi Oyakawa, Sonny Tanabe, Edward Kawachika, Dennis Baker, Lawrence Hao, Masami Takahata, and Yoshinobu Terada. He was named the Big Island’s Sportsman of the Year in 1952 and received citations of accomplishment from the mayor of Honolulu in 1952 and from the Hawaii County Board of Supervisors in 1956. He served on Hawaii County’s committee for planning and designing Hilo’s first Olympic-sized pool in the 1970s. The county renamed their swim complex the ‘Charles "Sparky" Kawamoto Swim Stadium’ to honor Kawamoto on January 30, 1982. |
|
PUA KEALOHA
Pua Kele Kealoha (1902–1989) was a member of the US Olympic swim Teams in both 1920 and 1924. He won a gold medal at age 17 as a member of US men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay team with teammates Perry McGillivray, Norman Ross and Duke Kahanamoku. Individually, Kealoha finished second to Duke in the men's 100-meter freestyle and won the silver. He won the AAU championship in 1921 when the 100-yard event was held in Honolulu harbor. He did not medal at the 1924 Olympics. He was not related to fellow Olympian from Hawaii, Warren Kealoha. |
|
WARREN KEALOHA
Warren Daniels Kealoha (1903–1972) was twice an Olympic gold medalist and a world record-holder. Kealoha won the 100-meter backstroke event at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics. During his career, Kealoha set four world records, first at the 1920 Olympics and last in Honolulu in 1926. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" in 1968. He was not related to fellow Olympian from Hawaii, Pua Kealoha. |
|
WILLIAM "BILL" KIRSCHBAUM
William “Bill” Thomas Kirschbaum (1902–1953) won the bronze medal in the men's 200-meter breaststroke at the 1924 Paris Olympics. He was one of ten swimmers with Hawaii ties, including Duke Kahanamoku, Sam Kahanamoku, Pua Kealoha, Warren Kealoha, Stubby Kruger, Henry Luning, Charles Pung, Aileen Riggin, and Mariechen Wehselau, who competed on the US Olympic swim team. The US team won 19 of 33 total medals awarded, including five golds (out of six events) for the men and four golds (out of five events) for the women, the most dominant performance in Olympic swimming history. |
|
HAROLD KRUGER
Harold Herman “Stubby” Kruger (1897-1965) won the Hawaiian freestyle swimming championship in 1919 and went on to become a member of the US Olympic swim team which competed in both the 1920 Antwerp and the 1924 Paris Olympics. He was also a player on the US Olympic water polo team. He was on the St. Mary’s College water polo team which won the national championship and a member of six national champion relay teams. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as a "Pioneer Swimmer.” |
|
LUDY LANGER
Ludwig “Ludy” Ernest Frank Langer (1893-1984) won a silver medal in the 400-meter freestyle at the Antwerp Olympics in 1920. He set two world records in the 440-yard and 500-meter freestyle and won eight U.S. National Championships from 1915 through 1921. He held the world record in the quarter mile for five years until he lost it to ISHOF Hall of Famer Norman Ross, who touched him out for the 400-meter gold at Antwerp. In 1921 he won his seventh AAU title when he beat Johnny Weissmuller in the 440y freestyle, thus contradicting the legend that Weissmuller was unbeaten throughout his career. In 1988 he was elected to the International Swimming Hall of Fame as a “Pioneer Swimmer.” |
|
HENRY LUNING
Henry K. Luning (1905–1965) was an American competition swimmer who represented the United States as a 19-year-old at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris; he was one of ten swimmers with Hawaii ties on the US swim team. Luning competed in the preliminary heats of the men's 100-meter backstroke in the Olympics but did not qualify for the event final. |
|
HELEN MOSES
Helen Moses (1905–1985), later know by her married name Helen Cassidy, was a member of the US Olympic women’s swim team which participated in the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. Moses began training under coach George “Dad” Center at the Outrigger Canoe Club in Honolulu in 1919. In 1920 after the Olympics, Helen was given an Honorary/Life membership in the Outrigger Canoe Club in Honolulu. She graduated from Punahou in 1924. She married Charles E. Cassidy in 1930 and had a daughter. |
|
BUNMEI NAKAMA
Bunmei “Bunny” Nakama (1923-1995) was the younger brother of champion swimmer, Keo Nakama. He was an original member of the Three-Year Swim Club founded by Coach Soichi Sakamoto, which was dedicated to competing in the 1940 Olympics. The 1940 Olympics were cancelled due to WW II, but Bunny won first in 1940 AAU National Championships 1-mile swim at age 16. From 1944 to 1946 he served in the US Army. In 1948 at age 25 he attended Ohio State University to swim under coach Mike Peppe. He was named All American for the Ohio State swim team, and in 1949 the Ohio State swim team won the Western Conference and the NCAA Championships. |
|
WILLIAM "OPELU" PAI
William K. (Opelu) Pai reportedly completed the first Kaiwi Channel crossing in 1939 when he swam from Molokai to Oahu. He started his swim off Ilio Point, Molokai, and finished at the Blowhole near Sandy Beach on Oahu in 18 hours and 56 minutes. However, because he was rowed 50 yards from shore to start his swim off Molokai, and the Hawaiian Channel Swim Association (the body which oversees Hawaii channel swims) requires that channel swims start and finish on shore, it could not certify this crossing. Thus, Keo Nakama is recognized as the first official swimmer to swim across the Kaiwi Channel in 1961. |
|
CHARLES PUNG
Charles Pung was a member of the 1924 Olympic swim team and competed in the 100-meter backstroke, although he did not medal. He was one of ten swimmers with Hawaii ties, including Duke Kahanamoku, Sam Kahanamoku, Pua Kealoha, Warren Kealoha, Bill Kirschbaum, Stubby Kruger, Henry Luning, Aileen Riggin, and Mariechen Wehselau, who competed on the US Olympic swim team. The US team won 19 of the 33 total medals awarded, including five golds (out of six events) for the men and four golds (out of five events) for the women, the most dominant performance in Olympic swimming history. |
|
AILEEN RIGGIN-SOULE
Aileen Muriel Riggin (1906–2002), also known by her married name Soule, was an Olympic medalist in both swimming and springboard diving. In the 1920 Antwerp Olympics she became, at age 14, the first-ever female Olympic diving champion winning gold in the 3-meter springboard diving event. In the 1924 Paris Olympics, she competed in both diving and swimming, winning silver in 3-meter springboard diving and bronze in the 100-meter backstroke. In doing so she became the first female Olympian to win medals in two different sports at the same Olympic Games. At the National AAU Indoor Championships, she won one diving title and three freestyle relay titles (in 1922, 1923 and 1925). She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an Honor Diver and Swimmer, the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame, and the Hawaii Waterman Hall of Fame. |
|
YOSHITO SAGAWA
Yoshito Sagawa (1919-2001) swam for the Nuuanu YMCA swim team and was on the 1939 team that won the National YMCA Swimming and Diving Championship. Sagawa and Nuuanu Y teammates Jimmy Tanaka and Tom Tanaka would have had a chance to make the 1940 US Olympic team had it not been cancelled due to WW II. Shortly after winning the 1939 championship, he was named coach of the Nuuanu Y swim team. Over the years Sagawa coached Olympian Ford Konno, Herbert Kobayashi, Tom Nekota (his first swimmer to earn a college scholarship, University of Oregon), Godfrey Kang, Carl Uyeda, Wally Nakamoto, Ricky Tokushima and many others. |
|
SOICHI SAKAMOTO
Soichi Sakamoto (1906–1997) was a swimming coach who pioneered training methods that have now become standard throughout the sport. He was a sixth-grade science teacher at Puunene School in Maui, Hawaii, and initially knew little about swimming. Nonetheless, he established the Three-Year Swim Club in 1937 for the children of poor sugar plantation workers with the goal of competing in the 1940 Olympics. The 1940 Olympics were cancelled due to World War II; however, his team won the 1939, 1940 and 1941 AAU national outdoor team championships. In the 1948 London Olympics, Sakamoto finally realized his dream when his swimmers, Thelma Kalama and Bill Smith, won gold medals, and more of his swimmers medaled at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics. He was the swimming coach at the University of Hawaii from 1946 to 1961 and an assistant coach of the US Olympic Swim Team from 1952 to 1956. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame, the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and the University of Hawaii Hall of Fame. |
|
ALLEN STACK
Allen McIntyre Stack (1928–1999) won the gold medal in the men's 100-meter backstroke at the 1948 London Olympics. Four years later at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics in Helsinki, he placed fourth in the same event. He attended Yale University, where he swam in NCAA competition from 1947 to 1949. He graduated from Yale with a bachelor's degree in 1949, then served in the U.S. Navy from 1951 to 1954. He graduated from Columbia University Law School in 1956 and practiced law in Honolulu until 1998. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Swimmer" and the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame. WORLD RECORDS: 6; PAN AMERICAN GAMES: 1951 gold (100m backstroke, 400m medley relay); U.S. NATIONAL AAU CHAMPIONSHIPS: 10; NCAA: 1 gold; AMERICAN RECORDS: 22 (100yd to 500yd backstroke). |
|
JAMES TANAKA
James “Jimmy” Tanaka, was a member of the Nuuanu YMCA swim team in Honolulu, Hawaii, which competed in the 17th YMCA International/National Swimming & Diving Championships in 1939. He placed 1st in the 220-Yard free, 1st in the 440-yard free, 1st in the 4X100 free relay. The Nuuanu Y team won the YMCA National team championship. Jimmy was a strong contender (along with fellow Nuuanu Y teammates, Yoshito Sagawa and Tom Tanaka) to make the 1940 US Olympic swim team, but the Olympics were cancelled due to WW II. |
|
MARIECHEN WEHSELAU
Mariechen M. Wehselau (1906–1992), also known by her married name Jackson, won a gold medal as a member of the US women’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay team in the 1924 Paris Olympics, together with teammates Euphrasia Donnelly, Gertrude Ederle and Ethel Lackie. The US women set a new world record in the event final. Individually, she won a silver medal in the 100-meter freestyle, behind American teammate Ethel Lackie. After the Games she then returned to Hawaii, where from 1928 to 1937 she trained swimmers with her Coach George “Dad” Center. She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as an "Honor Pioneer Swimmer" and the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame. |
|
DR. RICHARD YOU
Richard You, M.D., was a physician and prominent Hawaii sportsman who gave his time, skills and financial support to furthering sports in Hawaii. He assisted many athletes, including swimmers, weightlifters, boxers, football players, and track & field athletes in building their strength, stamina, and overall health. He served as chairman or member of numerous amateur athletic organizations. He served as team physician for the US Olympic team at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. He was the physician and trainer for the US at the 1955 Pan American Games. In 1962 he received the Hawaiian AAU Distinguished Service Award. He received the Hawaii Sportsman of the Year five times (1951, 1955, 1962, 1965 and 1982). In 1972 he received a Certificate of Merit by the Olympians International and a gold medal for 25 years of service to Olympic Weightlifting from the International Weightlifting Federation. In addition, he was named Hawaii Father of the Year in Sports in 1960. |
HAWAI'I SWIMMING HALL OF FAME |
|
Webmaster: Sybee
© 2022 The Hawai'i Legacy Project. All Rights Reserved. |