NATIVE HAWAIIAN OLYMPIC SWIMMER MANUELA KALILI BORN
Manuella or Manuela, born in Honolulu, Hawaii, learned to swim with his older brother, Maiola, in Honolulu harbor where they dove for coins. Together, they represented the United States at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. As a member of the second-place U.S. team in the men’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay event, he won a silver medal with fellow Americans Frank Booth, George Fissler, and Maiola, and individually placed fourth overall in the men’s 100-meter freestyle. In 1931, he won the 100m freestyle at the AAU championships. Manuella retired from competition in 1933 and later appeared in several movies as a South Sea native and as a Navy messmen in war films. Kalili died on September 14, 1969, in Honolulu.
Sources: “Kalili Manuela,” Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame.com. Retrieved 4/25/2022, Kalili Manuela (hawaiisportshalloffame.com) “Manuella Kalili Bio, Stats, and Results,” Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 4/25/2022, Manuella Kalili Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archive.org) “Manuella Kalili,” Olympedia. Retrieved 4/25/2022, Olympedia – Manuella Kalili Photo: Author unknown, likely 1932. Fair Use.
Indigenous America Calendar 