Born in 1934, Richard "Sonny" Tanabe Jr. Is a former Olympic swimmer, educator, and author from the Big Island. On this episode of Transmissions from Hawaii, he tells us about his life as a swimmer and a few other things, including the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial.

Guests & Links

• Richard "Sonny" Tanabe Jr.

Further Information

To learn more about Richard "Sonny" Tanabe Jr., you can visit the pages below.

• Sonny Tanabe | Hawaii Waterman Hall of Fame
• Richard "Sonny" Tanabe | Hawaii Swimming

Richard Tanabe Jr. has written two books. To learn more about them use the links below.

• The Evolution of Freediving-And History of Spearfishing in Hawaii
• Spearfishing on the Island of Hawaii: A Pictorial History

To learn more about the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial, use the link below.

• Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial

If you would like to read the article about Sonny that ran in the February-March 2019 issue of Wasabi magazine, please use the link below.

• A Hilo Water Bug by Phoebe Neel

Advertisers

• Hawaii SHIP
  • Hawaii SHIP Website

Credits

• Editing and sound design: Tony Vega
• Transcript: Milabeats.go
• Transmissions from Hawaii logo: fikrihidajat (Based on concept sketch by Tony Vega)
• Featured image: Courtesy of Richard Tanabe Jr.

Follow Us on Social Media

• Transmissions from Hawaii on Instagram
• Transmissions from Hawaii on Facebook
• Transmissions from Hawaii on Twitter

Transcript

You can download the PDF transcript here.