The Three-Year Swim Club: The Untold Story of Maui’s Sugar Ditch Kids and Their Quest for Olympic Glory

The true story of a group of Japanese American children, born into poverty on the island of Maui, who beat the odds to become swimming champions. On paper, their chances of success were zero: they were barefoot, underfed and had nowhere to train, except the irrigation ditches that ran into the cane fields where their parents laboured in virtual slavery. But schoolteacher Soichi Sakamoto saw their potential and battled against the anti-Japanese sentiment of the 1930s to turn their raw talent into brilliance. In their first year, the children outraced Olympic athletes twice their size; by year two they were national and international champions breaking US and world records; by year three year they were hailed as the greatest swimmers in the world. The outbreak of World War Two saw the cancellation of the 1940 and 1944 Olympic Games, which meant that 1948 would be their last chance for Olympic glory.

Format: Kindle Edition, Hardcover, Audio CD & Paperback

Paperback: 448 Pages

Language: English