Answered: Duke Kahanamoku is credited with popularizing surfing around the world. He was also an Olympic medalist in which sport?

Kahanamoku was a five-time Olympic medalist in swimming. Between Olympic competitions, Kahanamoku traveled the world giving swimming exhibitions and demonstrating the sport of surfing, which until then was unknown outside of Hawaii. He brought surfing to California in 1912, and famously gave a demonstration in Sydney, Australia, in 1914 using a pine board he carved himself out of a plank he found at a local hardware store. A statue of Kahanamoku, who died in 1968, is a well-known landmark on Waikiki Beach where the Big Kahuna grew up.