Surf Music
Duke Kahanamoku - The Big Kahuna
When he was growing up Kahanamoku preferred a traditional surf board which he named ‘Papa nui’. It was traditionally fashioned of ancient Hawaiian olo timber from the Koa tree. The Duke’s 1st surfboard was over 16 feet long and weighed over 50 kilograms and had no fins. Kahanamoku qualified for the U.S. Olympic swimming team in 1911 by breaking the world record for the 200 metre freestyle in the the 4×200 relay and continued on to grab a gold medal in the 100 meter freestyle Stockholm Olympics in 1912 as well as a Silver in the relay event. He went on the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp to win 2 more Gold medals in the 100 meter events. At the 1924 Olympics in Paris he got the Silver medal for the same event. Johnny Weissmuller, (Tarzan) won the Gold and the bronze went to the Duke's brother - Sam Kahanamoku. During this whole time Duke Kahanamoku traveled around the world including Australia and the USA giving swimming exhibitions and promoting the sport of surfing. When he was later living in California Duke Kahanamoku worked on several films in Hollywood, was heavily involved with the local Athletic Club, Lifeguard quad and swimming fraternity.
In June 1925 when he was living in Newport Beach, California, the Duke was involved in the amazing rescue of 8 men from a sunken fishing trawler. Although more than 17 fisherman died in the tragedy, Kahanamoku paddled out into the heavy surf and ferried 8 men safely back to shore one at a time. Some other local surfers also assisted in saving a further 4 survivors. A local police captain called the rescue "the most superhuman surfboard rescue act the world has seen to date." It was widely regarded that this event lead to the tradition of lifeguards using rescue surfboards as part of their standard equipment. The Big Kahuna, Duke Kahanamoku was the 1st man to be inducted into the Surfing Hall of Fame as well as the Swimming Hall of Fame and still has many events named in his honor. |
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