– On the beaches of the world, they admired him like a pop star
Duke Kahanamoku thrived in the pool and became a legend in the sea. The Hawaiian starred in Hollywood movies and made the Beach Boys’ lifestyle famous.
He almost slept through it, the moment that made him world famous. Duke Kahanamoku took a nap before the grand final. But a supervisor of the American team found the 21-year-old just in time, minutes later the Hawaiian swam in a world record time to Olympic gold in 1912 over 100 meters freestyle in a bay near Stockholm. It was followed by silver with the relay.
And this only eleven months following his first swimming competition, in which he had broken the world records for 100 and 200 yards in the Honolulu docks. His gold coup should be the starting signal for a wild life for Kahanamoku – and subsequently make surfing world famous. Yes, surfing.
Because the model athlete with the big paws and shoe size 48 was actually a beach boy so typical for Hawaii. Born in Honolulu in 1890 and raised on world-renowned Waikiki Beach to a police officer and the eldest of nine siblings, Kahanamoku spent most of his time on or near the water from a young age. As a lifeguard, in a canoe or on his surfboard.
His talent as a swimmer and surfer was evident early on – and his love for both sports. “I’ve always been fascinated by both. But surfing means much more to me. The biggest kick in my life is riding a big wave on one of these heavy and long boards,” he said later.
In the years following his success in Stockholm, he remained true to both passions, trained as a swimmer and tried to make his passion, surfing, known beyond Hawaii. He was invited by “almost every town in the world that had a swimming pool,” writes biographer Joseph L. Brennan years later. In 1912 Kahanamoku traveled to California, in 1914 to Australia and New Zealand. Everywhere he showed his tricks on the waves.
Giant Show in Australia
His show on Christmas Eve in Freshwater near Sydney in front of a large audience caused such a stir in the media that it is now considered the birth of modern surfing culture in Australia. After Kahanamoku’s visits, enthusiasm for surfing spread rapidly in California and New Zealand.
His travels as a “surf missionary” did not detract from his success as a swimmer. After the Olympic Games did not take place in 1916 because of the World War, he once more won gold in 1920 in Antwerp in the 100 m freestyle and this time with the relay. Four years later in Paris, at the age of almost 34, he swam to a silver medal in the 100 meter freestyle, third was Samuel Kahanamoku. The two brothers were only beaten by Johnny Weissmüller, the swimmer at the time.
Weissmuller later rose to fame as the Tarzan actor in the Hollywood film series.
Duke Kahanamoku also frequented the film Mecca following his Olympic swimming career. If the producers of the big studios were looking for an indigenous man or a beach boy, Kahanamoku was there. For example, he played in films alongside stars like Jack Lemmon or John Wayne.
«Superhuman», sheriff and ambassador
In the 1920s, the surfing pioneer lived mainly in California, where he became a “superhuman” on June 14, 1925, as the Newport Beach police chief later put it. Kahanamoku used his surfboard to rescue eight men from the ocean that day whose fishing boat had capsized in the rough seas off Newport Beach.
Now back in Hawaii, he was elected sheriff of Honolulu in 1932 and re-elected twelve times. When the Hawaiian Islands officially became a state of the USA in 1959, he was appointed the official ambassador to Hawaii. Once once more he was allowed to travel around the world to represent the culture of his homeland. He shook hands with JFK or was celebrated as a pop star on the beaches of the world.
To this day, The Duke is the only athlete to be inducted into the Hall of Fame for both swimming and surfing. He is also a member of the US Olympic Hall of Fame. Songs have been dedicated to him, statues have been built, restaurants have been named following him, and books and documentaries tell the life of the surfing pioneer.
On January 22, 1968, Duke Kahanamoku died of a heart attack in a Honolulu parking lot at the age of 77. In a big ceremony and parade, his ashes were scattered in the ocean off Hawaii. There he should rest in peace, just as he did before his Olympic gold medal in Stockholm, which made him world famous.
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