Question: Whatever happened to establishing a permanent home for the Hawaii Swimming Hall of Fame?

Answer: Supporters of the project featuring the feats of swimmers like Duke Kahanamoku and swimming coach Soichi Sakamoto are still looking for a permanent location for the exhibit.

Project President Carl Kawauchi said his organization has exhibits in two places, an area at Honolulu Airport next to United Airlines Gate 9, and at the Patsy T. Mink Central Oahu Regional Park in Waipio.

Kawauchi said the Hawaii Swimming Hall of Fame has been working with the city and state to establish a permanent home but finding the money for it has been difficult.

Kawauchi, a channel swimmer, said most people aren’t aware of the great feats accomplished by many Hawaii swimmers who were leaders in the field of competitive swimming in the mid-1900s.

"It’s quite a legacy they left," he said.

Kahanamoku, known for his promotion of surfing as a water sport, was a five-time Olympic medalist, including a gold medal in the 100-meter competition in Stockholm in 1912.

Swimming in Hawaii sometimes became a way for athletes to travel and get a college education, including the late Oahu resident Bill Smith, who won the gold in the 400-meter freestyle and also in the 800-meter freestyle at the Olympics in London in 1948.

Smith went to Ohio State University, where Maui resident Keo Nakama swam in college.

Nakama was part of the Maui team that won the outdoor AAU men’s championship in 1939 and 1940 and went on to win numerous awards in swimming, including five titles at the Australian Nationals and five gold medals in the Pan American Swimming Championships in Ecuador in 1939.

Nakama, the son of a plantation laborer, earned a master’s degree in education and later served in the state House for 10 years.

Nakama was also the first to swim the Molokai Channel, a distance between Oahu and Molokai of 27 miles.

Both Nakama and Smith were among swimmers trained by Maui coach Sakamoto, who started a swimming program in 1937 called the "Three-Year Swim Club."

The aim of the club was to train youths to make the U.S. Olympic team.

Sakamoto, a sixth-grade teacher at Puunene School, did more than make sons and daughters of sugar plantation immigrants dream of being Olympians. He was on the cutting edge in developing new training methods, including the use of weights and resistance swimming. He started training swimmers in the plantation ditches.

Sakamoto, who died in 1997 at age 91, has a public swimming pool named in his honor in Wailuku and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Florida in 1966.

Those interested in supporting the project may send queries to Carl Kawauchi, Hawaii Swimming Legacy Project, 99-1762 Aiea Heights Drive, Aiea 96701 and cmkawauchi@aol.com.