Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku was a Hawaiian competition swimmer who popularized the sport of surfing. A Native Hawaiian, he was born to a minor noble family less than three years before the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. He lived to see the territory's admission as a state and became a United States citizen. He was a five-time Olympic medalist in swimming, winning medals in 1912, 1920 and 1924.
Aileen Muriel Riggin, also known by her married name Aileen Soule, was an American competition swimmer and diver. She was Olympic champion in springboard diving in 1920 and U.S. national springboard diving champion from 1923 to 1925. After retiring from competitions, she enjoyed a long and varied career in acting, coaching, writing and journalism. She was a swimming celebrity in Hawaii and the United States and an active ambassador of women's swimming well into old age.
Herman Ronald "Herm" Frazier is a retired American sprinter. He won gold medals in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 1976 Olympics and 1975 and 1979 Pan American Games. Individually he earned a bronze medal in the 400 m event at the 1976 Olympics. He served as chef de mission of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team and as the Athletic Director at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Hawaii. He currently serves as the senior deputy athletics director at Syracuse University.
Ford Hiroshi Konno is a Japanese–American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in three events.
Yoshinobu Oyakawa is an American former competition swimmer, 1952 Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in the 100-meter backstroke. He was the first Hawaiian islander to win an Olympic medal, and is considered to be the last of the great "straight-arm-pull" backstrokers. He still holds the world record in this technique.
William Melvin Smith Jr. was an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and a former world record-holder in four events. He was one of the most successful competitive swimmers in the United States in the first half of the 20th century.
Mariechen M. Wehselau, also known by her married name Mariechen Jackson, was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and world record-holder.
Robyn Mokihana Ah Mow is an American indoor volleyball coach and former player. He is the head coach of the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine volleyball team. She was a setter on the USA national team and played at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the 2004 Athens Olympics, and at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, helping Team USA to a silver medal. She worked as an assistant coach at the University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine volleyball team from 2011-2015 and was named Head Coach in 2017 after Dave Shoji's retirement. She has also served as a club coach at Na Keiki Mau Loa Volleyball Club.
Thelma H. Kalama, later known by her married name Thelma Aiu after 1960, was an American competition swimmer, 1948 London Olympic gold medalist in the freestyle relay, and a marine veteran. She was the second woman to represent Hawaii in the Olympics.
Richard Fitch Cleveland was a Hawaiian-born American competition Hall of Fame swimmer, three-time Pan American Games champion, and former world record-holder in the 100 meters and 100 yard events. He attended Ohio State University, and was one of the early competitive swimmers to benefit from the use of weight training in the off season. He later worked as a real estate broker
William Tripp Woolsey was an American competition swimmer for McKinley High School and Indiana University, who captured an Olympic gold medal in Helsinki in 1952, and a silver medal in Melbourne in 1956.
Evelyn Tokue Kawamoto, also known by her married name as Evelyn Konno, was an American competition swimmer, and American record holder, who won bronze medals in the 400-meter individual freestyle and the 4x100-meter freestyle relay events at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. She set American records in both the 300-meter IM and 200-meter breaststroke in 1949. After graduating the University of Hawaii in her 30's with a degree in Education, she worked as an elementary school teacher.
Brent Thales Berk was an American competition swimmer for Stanford University and a 1968 Mexico City Olympic 400-meter freestyle competitor. He later worked as an insurance executive in Hawaii.
William Winfield Farley was a 1964 Tokyo Olympic competitor in the 1500-meter event, and an All-American competition swimmer specializing in distance freestyle events for the University of Michigan. He worked as an American businessman in the Philippines, Tokyo and Hawaii, and served as a swimming coach for over 25 years, best known for leading Princeton Varsity Men's swimming to six Eastern Seaboard championships and five Ivy League titles from 1969-1979.
Richard Tsugio Tanabe Jr., is a former American competition swimmer, teacher, and swim coach, who represented the United States at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. A native Hawaiian, he taught and coached at the Kamehameha Schools outside Honolulu for over thirty years.
The Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame is a sports hall of fame and museum in the U.S. state of Hawaii. According to the hall's official website, it servers as the "state museum for sports history in the islands," and "is best described as an educational repository created to enshrine athletes, pioneers and contributors of Hawai'i's rich sports history." The organization was founded in 1997 and a selection committee meets once a year in December. The flagship exhibition for the hall is located in the Bishop Museum in Honolulu.
Emma Maynon Kaipuala Veary is a lyric Coloratura soprano born in Hawaii.
Soichi Sakamoto was a Hall-of-Fame American swimming coach for the Hawaii Swim Club from 1946 through 1981, the University of Hawaii from 1946 through 1961 and the U.S. Olympic team in 1952 and 1956. He pioneered the use of interval and resistance training for competitive swimmers, methods that have now become standard throughout the sport. He coached several national champions and five Olympic medalists that included Bill Woolsey, Thelma Kalama, Evelyn Kawamoto, Bill Smith, and Burwell Jones.
Emerick K. Ishikawa was an American weightlifter from Hawaii. In 1944 he set a world record in the bantamweight class at the U.S. National Weightlifting Championships. He won Amateur Athletic Union championships as a bantamweight in 1944 and 1945, and as a featherweight in 1946 and 1947. In 1947 he also won a bronze medal in the featherweight class of the World Championships. He also competed in the men's featherweight event at the 1948 Summer Olympics.
Charles "Sparky" Kiyoichi Kawamoto was an Assistant swim coach for the 1956 U.S. Olympic team, and a Head Coach for Hilo High School, and the Hilo Aquatic Club, in Hilo, Hawaii, which he founded in the 1940s. In addition to High School All Americans, and AAU champions, he produced two Olympic medalists during his coaching years, Sonny Tanabe, and Yoshi Oyakawa, Hawaii's first Olympic gold medalist in 1956.
