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The accomplishment Nakama is best known for -- swimming from the island of Molokai to Oahu -- didn't happen until he was 40 years old! In September 1961, he crossed the 27-mile Ka Iwi Channel in 15 ½ hours; he was the first verified to accomplish this feat. The first peacetime draft was approved on September 14, 1940. |
His
storied career included a world record 20:29 in the mile swim, Big Ten Conference titles
at Ohio State and numerous national and international victories. World War II cheated him
out of the Olympic Games: Keo Nakama was at his peak from 1940 - 1944. He was inducted
into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1975.