Born in Honolulu to a native Hawaiian family, just as the Kingdom was overthrown in 1890, Duke Kahanomoku grew up on what is now called Waikiki, and fell in love with the sea at a young age, becoming a world-class swimmer, and seasoned surfer. Duke first began riding traditional Hawaiian designs called "papa nui," often upwards of fifteen or sixteen feet in length and weighing more than 100 pounds [~45.4kg].
Handsome, bronzed, and beyond athletic, 21-year-old Duke broke the World Record for the 100-Meter Freestyle, clocking in at 55.4 seconds, and then went on to break the 200-Meter Freestyle and tie the 50-Meter.
After making the Olympic National Team, Duke would go on to win five Olympic Medals, three of them Gold, earning the reputation as the greatest freestyle swimmer in the world.
Duke used his international reputation to spread surfing all over the world, famously giving swimming and surfing demonstrations everywhere from New York to Australia, teaching seminars on the Hawaiian Sport of Kings, the basics of swimming and lifesaving, and even how to build boards from local timber, like Australian pine or California Redwood.
Duke spent a lot of time in California, working as an actor in Hollywood. He famously helped to rescue several fishermen using a surfboard as a life-saving device, which were eventually adopted by Lifeguards worldwide. He returned to Honolulu and served 13 terms as Sheriff of Honolulu, and later in the military police during World War II, before Hawaii had even become a U.S. State.
In 1965 the first internationally respected professional surfing championships were held at Sunset Beach, in honor of the Olympic Hall of Famer.
The Duke Invitational Surfing Championships, or simply "The Duke" as it would come to be known, was the most prestigious competition in the world at the time, and ran until 1985. The Duke crowned some of the most respected surfers as champions, like inaugural event winner, Mr. Sunset himself, Jeff Hackman, Jock Sutherland, Larry Bertlemann, Eddie Aikau, Dane Kealoha and Derek Ho.
At surfing's debut in the Olympics in 2020, Carissa became surfing's first Gold Medalist, bringing the title back to Honolulu, the birthplace of surfing and Duke Kahanomku's dream of surfing's Olympic inclusion. - WSL / Kelly Cestari
Surfing's inclusion to world's biggest sporting event finally came during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, almost a hundred years exactly since Duke's final Gold Medal-winning performance, at the 1920 Antwerp Games.
Beyond his athleticism and service, Duke was an outspoken and active advocate for preserving and perpetuating traditional Hawaiian culture and customs, creating the blueprint for how young Hawaiian athletes carry their Hawaiian culture around the world, competing in their respective disciplines.
Fittingly, the Gold Medal was returned to Duke's hometown of Waikiki in 2020, by the modern embodiment of his Aloha Spirit: Honolulu's 5x World Champion, Carissa Moore.
Duke's dream of surfing's inclusion into the Olympics came true after a decades-long effort by the International Surfing Association, and it's visionary President Fernado Aguerre. Born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Fernando co-founded Reef Sandals. A passionate community and contest organizer, Aguerre founded the Pan American Surfing Games, which brought surfers from all over Central, South, and Latin America together. In 1994 he was hired as the President of the International Surfing Association, and began his 25-year campaign to bring surfing to the Olympic stage, bringing Duke's century-old dream to fruition.
Learn more about Teahupo'o here.
Head to the International Surfing Association (ISA) for more information on surfing in the Olympics.