Duke Kahanamoku was a Hawaiian surfer and swimmer but was also the first Hawaiian to win an Olympic medal.
Duke Kahanamoku was born on August 24 1890 in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the age of three years old, he moved to Waikiki and at an early age was surrounded by the ocean which he dedicated his life to. During his early childhood, he was raised in a big family that consisted of eight siblings and he was the oldest out of the nine children in his family. He began surfing at an early age and got instantly connected to surfing and the ocean. Kahanamoku dropped out of high school to work many jobs such as shining shoes and selling newspapers in order to help his family. In 1911 he won AAU’s swimming competition and broke a 100 yard freestyle record. A year later he attended his first Olympic game and won his first gold medal in the 100 meter freestyle and silver medal in the 4×200 meter freestyle.
In 1914 he introduced the surfing sport to the U.S Atlantic Coast, Australia and New Zealand. This was seen as a big accomplishment because surfing later became more popularized in Australia. Few years later he would participate in more Olympic Games and won two more gold medals and a silver medal and during his time there he recommended that surfing become an Olympic sport. He starred in 28 Hollywood movies but also got elected as sheriff of Honolulu, Hawaii from 1932 to 1961. In 1949 he married his wife and later became an official guest at the Tokyo Olympics. He got inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Unfortunately on January 22, 1968 Duke Kahanamoku would pass away from his heart at the age of 77.
Duke Kahanamoku was a remarkable legend to the surfing community and is now known as “the father of modern surfing”
