Kahanamoku, Duke (1890-1968), a champion Hawaiian swimmer, is generally credited with bringing the ancient Hawaiian sport of surfing to international popularity. During the early 1900’s, Kahanamoku traveled widely giving swimming exhibitions. During his travels, he added surfing to his swimming programs. He first made surfing popular in the United States in 1912. A surfing exhibition on Dec. 24, 1914, in Sydney , Australia, was a key event in the development of surfing in that country.
As a swimmer, Kahanamoku won a gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle in the 1912 Olympic Games , as well as a silver medal as part of the U.S. 4×200-meter freestyle relay. In the 1920 Olympics, he won gold medals in both the 100-meter freestyle and the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. He won a silver medal in the 100-meter freestyle in the 1924 Olympics.
Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku was born on Aug. 24, 1890, in Honolulu , in what was then the kingdom of Hawaii. During his youth, he developed his swimming and surfing skills on Honolulu’s famous Waikiki Beach. He made a number of motion pictures from 1925 to 1931, while living in southern California. He served as sheriff of Honolulu from 1932 to 1961. Kahanamoku was the first person to be inducted into both the International Swimming Hall of Fame (1965) and the International Surfing Magazine Hall of Fame (1966). He died on Jan. 22, 1968.
