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Program 574a: American Hawaii - The Three Year Swim Club

I can commend the book "The Three Year Swim Club" by Julie Checkoway which tells the pre-statehood story of a science teacher at Pu'unene School who started a swim club on Maui. He used the irrigation canals in the Pu'unene sugar cane fields as training pools, having kids swim upstream to build strength and endurance. He started the club in 1937 with the goal of qualifying for the 1940 Olympics - several club members did, but the Olympics were canceled for WWII. Members of the club eventually won many world championships, including gold medals in the 1952 Olympics. It's a fascinating and inspiring story, available as an e-book on Apple Books, but you can also read about coach Soichi Sakamoto on Wikipedia.

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