Full name Pua Kele Kealoha Name Pua Kealoha National team United States Role Swimmer | Sport Swimming Strokes Freestyle swimming Club Hui Makami Club | |
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Born November 14, 1902 ( 1902-11-14 ) Waialua, Hawaii Died August 29, 1989, San Francisco, California, United States Olympic medals Swimming at the 1920 Summer Olympics – Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay Similar People Duke Kahanamoku, Norman Ross, Frank Beaurepaire, Henry Taylor | ||
Pua Kele Kealoha (November 14, 1902 – August 29, 1989) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. He was not related to Olympic swimming champion Warren Kealoha.
Kealoha represented the United States at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium as a 17-year-old. He won a gold medal as a member of the winning U.S. team in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay with teammates Perry McGillivray, Norman Ross and Duke Kahanamoku. The U.S. relay team set a new world record of 10:04.4 in the event final. Individually, Kealoha also received a silver medal for his second-place performance in the men's 100-meter freestyle and finished with a time of 1:02.6.
According to a member of the Kahanamoku family who knew him, Kealoha was the only person to swim unassisted from Molokai to Oahu. He had previously tried to swim from Oahu to Molokai but failed due to the headwind, current, and waves.