Hawaii’s Olympian Duke Kahanamoku

Although I lived in Lihue, Kauai when I was in the second and half of third grades, I didn’t learn about Duke Kahanamoku, the well-known surfer, until I was an adult.

Duke was named after his father and his family was considered prominent in Hawaii. Duke learned how to swim and surf at beaches near Waikiki.

Kahanamoku, nicknamed “The Duke” and “The Big Kahuna,” is considered the father of modern surfing. (Source: Surfer Today.)

Duke qualified for the U.S. Olympic swimming team in 1912 and won a gold medal for the 100-meter freestyle along with a silver medal for placing second for the U.S. men’s team for the 200-meter freestyle relay.

For the 1920 Olympics held in Antwerp, Belgium, Duke won gold medals for the 100-meter and the relay.

In the 1924 Olympics in Paris, France, Duke won a silver medal for the 100-meters; the bronze went to Duke’s brother, Samuel. While he won no more Olympic medals, he did serve as an alternate for the U.S. water polo team at the 1932 Summer Olympics.

What a legacy.

During Duke’s traveling giving swimming exhibitions, he was instrumental in making the sport of surfing popular. When touring, he would include his surfing exhibitions. He was mainly known in Hawaii and influenced surfing to those in southern California in 1912.

Duke gets credit for helping to develop surfing in Australia where he gave a surfing exhibition in Sydney at Freshwater Beach on Christmas Eve in 1914. The Freshwater Surf Club still has the surfboard that Duke made from pine. There is also a statue of him in New South Wales.

When Duke lived in southern California, he acted in a few films. This is how he would also network his sport of surfing. He became active with the Los Angeles Athletic Club as a lifeguard and competed with swimming and water polo teams.

Interestingly, on June 14, 1925, when he was living in Newport Beach, California, he rescued eight men from a fishing vessel that capsized in heavy surf while it was attempting to enter the city’s harbor. He made several trips from the ship to the shore using his surfboard. Other surfers helped to save four more men.

Duke was praised by the Newport Beach Police Chief and his actions influenced the use of surfboards for water rescue efforts.

Duke at age 50 married Nadine Alexander in 1940 and she would travel with him. They didn’t have any children.

Duke was the first person to be inducted into the Swimming Hall of Fame and the Surfing Hall of Fame. Duke was also a member of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

In 1965, the invitation-only to The Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championship which was named in Duke’s honor started at Sunset Beach on the North Shore of Oahu. In 1985, it was replaced by the Billabong Pro. This championship was also the first surfing event to be televised by ABC’s Wide World of Sports. For the first three years of the championship, Duke handed out golden “Duke” statues to the winners.

Duke was elected to serve as the Sheriff of Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii in 1932 and remained in that role until 1961. During World War II, he served as a military police officer for the United States (Hawaii had not made it to statehood yet).

Duke died on January 22, 1968. His wife passed away in 1997 at age 92 as reported in Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

Duke’s name is used by Duke’s Waikiki which is a beachfront be and restaurant in Waikiki. This chain is also in Kauai in Lihue known as Duke’s Kauai. I’ve been there twice and it’s a fun place to go to; it’s beautiful to be sitting outside smelling the ocean. There’s a business next door that provides surfing lessons. There’s also a Duke’s in Maui, and California at Huntington Beach, Malibu, and La Jolla.

Opening image source: Surfer Today.

© Cathy Coombs