Generation of athletes enters Hawaii Hall of Fame

In many ways, they are peerless. But they also share bonds — of their generation, of gratitude to family and coaches, and pride in representing the state where they first learned and played their sports. They also share a place on the front edge of a wave of supreme athletes from Hawaii that began to build around the turn of the millennium and has yet to dissipate.

The five athletes inducted into the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame at Honolulu Country Club on Tuesday all made their marks in high schools here in the late 1990s.

Then they took on and took over — the worlds of football, soccer, track and field and water polo, as Olympic medalists and professional champions, all of them with time at the very top of their sport.

Now, Brandon Brooks, Brian Ching, Bryan Clay and Chris and Ma’ake Kemoeatu are all in the age range of 33 to 37, retired as athletes and taking on new challenges.

They are linked in some surprising ways.

“I competed against Bryan Clay in the high jump (in high school),” Brooks said in a video. “To see him in the Olympic Village (in 2008) was something special, to think that we both came from the same small island.”

Brooks won a silver medal in water polo in the ’08 games as the U.S. goalie. He could not make it to Tuesday’s induction. He is the coach of the UCLA women’s water polo team preparing to compete in the national championships, but was represented by his parents.

Brooks was the high school state player of the year in basketball in addition to starring in water polo at Punahou.

Kamehameha graduate Ching is now managing director of the Houston Dash women’s professional soccer team.

As a player, he was the first Hawaii-born athlete to represent the United States as a member of the national soccer team. He made the roster for the 2006 World Cup. As a professional, Ching was a six-time MLS all-star with the San Jose Earthquakes and Houston Dynamo.

”I wanted to be a surfer, but this was kind of second,” Ching, of Haleiwa, said jokingly.

As all did, he thanked his coaches, including the first one: his mother, Stephanie Whalen. “I wouldn’t have played if she didn’t coach me,” he said. “She knew nothing about soccer, but set a great example for me. She taught me what it means to work hard and go after what you want.”

Chris Kemoeatu said football wasn’t his first choice, too.

“I was like Brian, I wanted to be a surfer too,” he said. “But the board was too small or I was too big.”

He was the right size for offensive tackle, though, paving the way for Kahuku’s first state championship. Later, he was in three Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers, winning two. His brother, Ma’ake, also won a Super Bowl, with the Ravens.

Their biggest bond is Ma’ake donating a kidney to Chris, who was in need of one in 2014.

“Before we even knew he’d be a match he said he’d be the one to step up,” Chris said.

Like all the others, Ma’ake thanked his family.

“My mom and dad had a dream to bring us to Hawaii (from Tonga) for a better life,” he said.

A younger brother, Benji, died last August.

“It’s been a rough year for our family,” Chris said. “But I’m happy and proud to be here.”

Clay was the first competitor raised in Hawaii to win Olympic medals in track and field — in the decathlon. The Castle graduate overcame challenges including asthma and the state’s lack of tradition in the sport to win the silver medal in the 2004 Olympics and the gold in 2008 in Beijing, earning the title of “World’s Greatest Athlete.”

Clay expressed pride in coming from Hawaii.

“We’ve got some careers that are second to none,” he said. “I’ve always said that Hawaii, when you look at per capita, we can go up against any of the other states out there.”