by Phil Jarratt
Although track events began in the stadium almost as soon as the last team had marched out, swimming was not scheduled until seven in the evening, with the first-round heats of the men’s 100 metres up first. This gave both Duke and Cecil Healy plenty of time to recover from the highly charged emotion of the opening ceremony, which both had felt keenly for different reasons. Healy had represented his country at Athens in 1906, but there would always be a question mark as to the legitimacy of his bronze medal there, even though the two men who had beaten him, Daniels and Zalmay, were undeniably the best sprint swimmers in the world. In Stockholm he had the opportunity, albeit a slim one, to cap a very good swimming career with greatness.
A year earlier, before that momentous day at Alakea Slip, Duke had been a Waikiki beach boy. Now he had saluted the king of Sweden while countless thousands of people cheered him and his teammates, and he knew that back at home the hopes of Hawaii rested on his swimming performances at the greatest show on earth. That was some responsibility, but Duke had avoided thinking about it until he marched into that stadium and felt the enormity of the Olympic Games.
The swimming stadium was filled to capacity for the beginning of competition, which got off to a bad start for Australasia, with Theodore Tartakover eliminated in the first heat. Lesley Boardman qualified by winning the third, then Cecil Healy lost a tough battle with the United States’ Perry McGillivray but still qualified in second, with America’s Kenneth Huszagh also qualifying with best third.
The crowd was hushed when Duke Kahanamoku took his mark for the fifth heat alongside Australasia’s Billy Longworth, but they were soon cheering wildly as Duke pounded down the course, setting a new world record in 1 minute, 2 3⁄5 seconds. Longworth qualified in second place, and Harold Hardwick took out the sixth heat for Australasia.
The official press office report of Duke’s Olympic debut noted:
Won easily. The performance of the phenomenal Kanaka quite came up to expectations. He employs a special kind of crawl, with the motor-power derived from the ankles alone, and not from the hip or knee-joints. The soles of his feet work up and down, both the upper and under sides of his feet pressing backwards against the surface of the water.
The second-round heats were run the following afternoon, Sunday 7 July, with the Healy-trained German, Kurt Bretting, winning the first heat from Billy Longworth. In the second heat the other German swimmer, Walter Ramme, gave Duke a fright by leading for the first half, but the Hawaiian reined him in with a tremendous spurt over the final 30 metres. In the third and final heat Healy finished behind the Americans, Huszagh and McGillivray, but with a good enough time to qualify as the fastest third. The Italian, Massa, was a no-show, apparently unaware that he had qualified, in the first of a series of botched communications between officials and swimmers that was to dog the event.
Who was to blame for what happened next has been debated for more than a century without any firm conclusions being reached, with some colourful and completely implausible versions put forward along the way, but the official report of the Stockholm Olympics offered this:
Notice was given that the semi-finals would be decided the same day at 8pm but, owing to some misapprehension, the three representatives of the USA did not put in an appearance, from their belief that all the seven men who qualified in the second round would swim in the final on the Monday. The semi-finals were started, however, in spite of the absence of the three men …
Cecil Healy was not happy with the idea of contesting the semi-finals without the world-record holder in the mix. It was too much like Athens 1906, with that niggling doubt over the legitimacy of the event. The fact was that without Kahanamoku, Healy was almost a certainty to win the gold medal, particularly with Billy Longworth suffering from a nasty ear infection that was affecting his balance and his times, but that was not the kind of victory that sat well with him. Healy approached the race officials and asked them to delay, but with a full stadium again, they would not hear of it.
The program called for two semi-finals, so even though there were only four swimmers in all, this was what they had. Healy fought off a bold challenge from Ramme in the first, beating him by just one-fifth of a second, with the ailing Longworth third. Bretting swam alone in the second, but clocked the best time of the night, a full second faster than Healy. All qualified for the final, but as soon as he had changed, Healy again went to see the race officials, who agreed to refer the matter to the International Swimming Jury, despite a protest from the German swimmers, who felt that if you missed your heat you were out of the game. Later that night, Healy made representations to E.S. Marks, the Australian representative on the jury, strongly expressing his view that to proceed without the Americans would be ‘unsportsmanlike’.
The official report of the Olympics noted:
At a meeting of the International Swimming Jury, it was declared that no mistake had been committed by the leaders of the competition, but that the three representatives of the USA should be allowed to swim in a special heat to qualify for the final, the first man in this extra heat having to swim the distance in better time than the third man in Heat 1 of the semi-final, while, in the event of this being done, the second man in the extra heat would also be allowed to swim in the final, which was put off until Wednesday, July 10. The extra heat in question took place on Tuesday, July 9, when M. Massa (Italy), who, in consequence of a misunderstanding, had not swum in the second round, was also given permission to start.
It was a bizarre interpretation of the rules, but Duke had his second chance and he made the most of it. Needing only to better the time of the ailing Longworth to qualify, Duke beat his own world record by a sixth of a second for first, with Huszagh also qualifying in second place. McGillivray narrowly missed out, and Massa could not finish the distance, adding yet another farcical element to the event. (Massa also failed to complete his first-round heat in the 400 metres.)
So where were the Americans on the night of the semi-finals? Team manager Otto Wahle stood by the official explanation—that the Americans had assumed that the seven qualifiers from round two would go straight through to the final—despite the fact that there were semi-finals listed in the printed program and that the Stockholm baths only had six swimming lanes. Perhaps because the real story was too long in the telling, Duke’s biographer, Joe Brennan, completely fabricated a version that had Duke oversleeping on the Finland, being woken by teammate Michael McDermott (described as ‘the US backstroke champion’ although he was a breaststroker) and the two men running a mile around the harbour to the swimming stadium where the other swimmers were waiting at their marks. ‘Can you please wait until I get a swimsuit?’ Duke is supposed to have asked the starter.
‘Where’ve you been?’ the official is supposed to have responded, quite reasonably.
‘I guess my dad fathered a fool. I’ve been sleeping.’
Duke himself always maintained a dignified silence on the matter, but he never forgot that it was Cecil Healy’s persistence and honour that got him back in the race.
In the change rooms on the night of Wednesday 10 July, Duke sought out Healy and gave him a warm embrace, an action that puzzled his own teammates and horrified the Germans. Then they donned their team caps, Duke in red and white, Healy in green, and went out to their marks. Yet another capacity crowd filled the grandstands, enjoying a mild, sunlit evening. As they took their marks, Healy glanced at the one empty lane and spared a thought for Billy Longworth, who was in hospital in a serious condition with an abscess in his right ear, instead of sharing this grand moment. The official report picks up the story:
Bretting seemed very nervous, and the start had to be made over again on his account. The struggle was severest during the first half of the race and it was not before 50 met. had been covered that Kahanamoku showed in front. Huszagh and the two Germans then lay side by side, with Healy a couple of metres in the rear. In the finish, Healy made an
extraordinary spurt and made himself a safe second. Only a decimetre separated Huszagh and Bretting. It was a grand race between the swiftest swimmers in the world, only Longworth being unfortunately absent in consequence of illness.
Although others were adamant that Healy was reining Duke in over the last 10 metres, Healy himself never made that claim, more than satisfied with an honourable second to the greatest sprint swimmer in the world. When he, Duke and Ken Huszagh stood before King Gustav in the Olympic Stadium the next afternoon to receive their medals, there was no jealousy, no rivalry, just a shared bond that would remain strong.
The following evening, fresh from qualifying, along with the Australasians for the final of the 800-metres-teams event, Duke was in the competitors’ grandstand with all of the Australian and New Zealand swimmers to watch Fanny Durack become the first female swimming gold medallist. Durack and Mina Wylie were drawn at the left side of the pool and their green caps hit the water together. There was a tremendous cheer from the Australian camp as Durack went straight into an early lead, then broke away from the pack. Even when she collided with the wooden sideboard in the murky water, she seemed in total control. Mina, on the other hand, laboured in fourth place behind Great Britain’s Fletcher and Germany’s Rosenberg until late in the race when she appeared to change gears.
Duke leapt to his feet, punched his fist in the air and cried, ‘Go girl!’ then sat down again, embarrassed as he noticed Cecil Healy grinning at him. Mina charged past the two girls and slapped the finish board three seconds behind Durack for the silver medal.
With the swimming events coming to a close, Healy and Duke found themselves locked in combat again for their last swim, the teams final, on Monday 15 July. Without Longworth, the Australasians were expected to be no match for the United States, with Duke leading them home, but Healy swam a fast first leg, keeping abreast of the American, and then New Zealand’s Malcolm Champion lived up to his name in opening up a 10-metre lead. When Harold Hardwick came home hard in the final leg, Duke had no answer, and Australasia took the gold in world-record time. Perhaps it was only a consolation prize, but Australasia had won its second swimming gold.
The following day Duke joined Mina Wylie for a sandwich lunch during a harbour boating excursion for the foreign swimmers, meeting her father for the first time. Henry Wylie was gracious and polite, but Duke was left in no doubt that he would disapprove should there be anything to disapprove of. Despite this, when the boat returned to the dock, he was able to whisk off Mina alone for a tour of the Finland. They played deck quoits before joining Perry McGillivray and a few of the others at the bar in the team dining room, where Duke was surprised to find the swimmers drinking huge jugs of beer.
‘I thought this was a dry bar,’ said Duke.
‘Compliments of Colonel Thompson,’ said Perry. ‘Only when your events are over. Two steins?’
Duke was about to order sodas when Mina cut in. ‘I’ll have what they’re having.’ She drew her chair up close to Duke’s and happily slurped on the cold lager. Duke didn’t like its bitter taste but he loved the moment, sitting here with his buddies and this special girl, a famous victory behind him and the world at his fingertips.
Although Duke would never forget the thrill of winning his first Olympic gold, in the coming years his fondest memories of those weeks in Stockholm would concern two Australians who had settled for silver in the pool but had won a golden place in his heart.
Chapter 7
Duke
Duke, 1912. Photo courtesy Library of Congress.
The Games of the Fifth Olympiad complete, the victorious American team sailed out of Stockholm in late July 1912. Press reports detailed plans for an elaborate welcome home tickertape parade when the ship docked in New York, with a particular focus on America’s new exotic heroes, Duke Kahanamoku and the Native American Jim Thorpe, who had smashed all records in winning the decathlon and pentathlon. But Duke did not sail with his teammates. Suddenly the most famous swimmer in the world, he began a European exhibition tour with Perry McGillivray and a couple of others from the swim team.
Just a few days after his Olympic triumph, Duke bettered his own world record for the 100 metres by almost a second, with a fast-finishing McGillivray at his shoulder sending him home in 1 minute, 1 3⁄5 seconds in front of a screaming crowd at the Volkspark in Hamburg. The Australian women’s swimming team had also made the journey to Hamburg, with Fanny Durack winning the 100-metres freestyle with ease while Mina Wylie had no rivals in the 100-metres breaststroke. The young Olympic champions were the toast of the Free City that night, but they did manage to sneak away from their excitable hosts for a late-night celebration of their own at a lakeside bierkeller.
Although he was constantly in demand, Duke had never enjoyed such freedoms as he felt now, without the restraints of team managers and a travelling press corps, just a group of young athletes on the road. But tomorrow was another show, and he brushed cheeks with Mina as her father looked on quizzically, then hit the sack in the two-bunk room he shared with Perry, and in the morning they were on the train to Paris.
After two glorious weeks of swimming exhibitions, receptions and adulation, Duke and McGillivray sailed for New York, where Duke bade his friend from Chicago farewell and made his way immediately to Atlantic City, where two redwood surfboards, freighted by train from Los Angeles by George Freeth, awaited him. Although surfboard riding had been officially banned along the New Jersey coast, after the intervention of tourism authorities Duke was given a special two-hour dispensation each day, and he soon had huge crowds watching him from the pier.
The New York Herald reported, ‘Amateur surf riders here are having a chance to learn points of the sport from an Hawaiian expert who is giving daily exhibitions at the beach adjoining Young’s Pier. Many of the bathers have provided themselves with surf boards and have displayed skill in riding the huge combers.’
Far from being homesick, as he was the first time back East, Duke was having a ball, but he did ensure that he wrote to his father (his mother could not read English) at least once a week:
Having a great time here in Atlantic City riding the surf. The Henderson family [family of Lew Henderson, his trainer under Bill Rawlins] is also down here and all of us are having a good time, and enjoying the surfriding stunts. Thousands of people were on the Million Dollar Pier. I was also down to Ocean City the other day and will be in New York on Friday … on the way for the big time at Philadelphia, August 20. All well with us. Best aloha to all and don’t forget the boys.
After a transcontinental train journey and another feted stopover in San Francisco, Duke finally steamed for home on the Matson liner SS Wilhelmina, arriving in Honolulu on 1 October to a portside welcome that stunned him, even after the glory of Europe. The entire port area was filled with small boats carrying wellwishers waving colourful flags and bunting, and as the ship docked, cannons boomed from Battery Randolph at Fort DeRussy and thousands of fans cheered from the wharf.
Duke had tears streaming down his glowing face as he waved from the deck, and when he finally alighted with Dad Center, the Outrigger club captain, he was swamped with kisses and hugs and soon carried the weight of a hundred handmade floral leis around his neck. And there in front of him were his parents and the entire clan. All of Kalia was there to greet him in their Sunday best. And Big Bill Rawlins, of course, and even Alexander Hume Ford and a gang from the Outrigger.
The welcome home luau was held at his Uncle Henry Paoa’s big house on Kalia with what seemed like at least half the people who’d been at the dock in attendance. There were beers and tears aplenty and Halapu had to take an over-excited Uncle Chick out by the halau and remind him that there were some very important people there, not to mention the press men, who had become like shadows to the Kahanamoku family since the good news from Stockholm. ‘It’s like they just waiting on me to slip on a banana skin or some dang thing and take my picture,
’ Duke’s younger brother, David, had complained to Halapu.
What little English Julia had she now reduced to nothing, her polite but bemused smile being the best answer to every difficult question about America’s new swim star. Halapu had his own defence, being a police officer. He just made up stuff or told them what he thought they would like to hear.
‘What does the name “Kahanamoku” mean in English?’ one reporter asked.
‘Boat builder,’ Halapu replied emphatically, and he was technically correct. The word could be split into at least half a dozen meanings, but boat builder was one of them.
But if the Kahanamokus were slightly embarrassed by ‘Duke’s newfound fame, they were more so by the fund that had been set up, with the best intentions in the world, by some of Honolulu’s most prominent citizens within days of Duke’s gold-medal swim. Well aware that Duke’s amateur status would prevent him from making money from his sport—already there were rumours that track hero Jim Thorpe’s brief career as a minor league baseball player might cost him his two Stockholm gold medals—the committee, started by Mayor Fern and Big Bill Rawlins and promoted by both Honolulu newspapers, the Star-Bulletin and The Advertiser, had covered all of his homebound travel expenses by the time he’d arrived in Atlantic City, and were well on the way to achieving their goal of raising 5000 dollars to buy him a home by the time he finally arrived in Honolulu. ‘Duke deserves a 5000-dollar house and lot,’ Mayor Fern told the Star-Bulletin. ‘Maybe we can’t raise that much, but we can raise a good deal.’
This was not just largesse for a much-loved local hero. The business community had recognised immediately that their beach-boy swim star was the greatest promotional asset the new Hawaiian tourism industry could ever have. And Duke’s timing was perfect. Introduced by cruise-ship entertainers on their return to the mainland, Hawaiian music and dance were becoming as popular as ragtime, and the Pacific territory was suddenly the dream vacation destination. The number of visitors was increasing each month, and city businesses realised that it would continue to do so while Duke Kahanamoku remained a prominent public figure.
