Keo Nakama

Kiyoshi Nakama (, May 21, 1920 – September 8, 2011) was an American freestyle competitive swimmer, who set a world record in the mile, was an All American at Ohio State, and later served as a High School swim coach, teacher and ten-year member of the Hawaii State House of Representatives.

Early education and swimming Nakama was born in Puʻunene, Hawaii, a town on the island of Maui known for its nearby Sugar Cane plantations.

He attended Maui High School, and was a high achieving member of the strict and competitive "Three-year Swim Club" managed by Hall of Fame swim Coach Soichi Sakamoto at the Puʻunene School. To improve his baseball skills, he played with Puunene's Camp leagues during his High School years as Maui High had no baseball team He completed his Masters at Ohio State in 1945, and taught for the University for two years.

International swimming career His greatest single championship performance were his five gold medals in the 1940 Pan American Swimming Championships. Domestically he held a total of twenty-seven USA national swimming titles for freestyle distances ranging 110 yards to 1500 meters, and he won six Australian National Championships.

Post-swimming career After retiring from competitive swimming, and completing his education including two years teaching at Ohio State, he worked as a High School teacher, athletic director and occasional swim coach, at Farrington and Leilehua High Schools, and Washington and Jarrett Intermediate Schools. Nakama was later elected to the Hawaii State House of Representatives, where he served for five two-year terms from 1964 until 1974.

He died in at St. Francis Hospice West in Honolulu on September 8, 2011 at the age of 91, with evening services on September 30 at Diamond Head Mortuary. He was pre-deceased by his wife Evelyn Mitsue Oyadomari Nakama, a former Philippine Airline supervisor who died in 2008. The couple had six children, mostly girls. In a unique tribute to the greatly admired public servant and athlete, Hawaii's Governor Neil Abercrombie ordered flags to be flown at half staff from sunrise to sunset on Friday, September 30, 2011, the day of his memorial.

Honors He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1975,