Inside Sports

By Dave Reardon

Friday, July 19, 1996

Mike Fitzgerald is on vacation.
His column returns July 31.

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But no matter how talented, how prepared and how gutsy people are, there is one element that is also needed to get to and win at the Olympics.

It's the same factor that often rules our everyday lives.

It's called luck.

If you have any doubt about this, ask Keo Nakama - he knows about ill fortune and how quickly it can kill dreams forged into near-reality through endless dedication and hard work.

And as one who got the right tides as he successfully fought his way across the rough 27-mile Molokai Channel at age 40, he knows the other side of fate, too.

Nakama, 76, of Aina Haina, is one of the best swimmers who never got to the Olympics. After growing up on Maui where he was coached by the legendary Soichi Sakamoto, Nakama won 17 national collegiate championships and competed internationally. But World War II took care of his Olympic aspirations. Nakama was at his peak when the 1940 and '44 Games were canceled.

"I guess I sort of got shafted," he said, in a voice lacking self-pity. "But even though I went to college (at Ohio State) to become an Olympic swimmer, it was still good since I left with a degree."

SADLY, Nakama got the short end again last weekend, again through no fault of his own. His home was burglarized, and many mementos of his distinguished athletic career were stolen.

"It happened while I was at a softball game on Sunday," Nakama said. "The day you least expect something like that."

Someone broke in and ransacked the house, taking many medals and trophies, including Nakama's swimming medals from the 1939 Pan American Games in Ecuador.

They also took his Big Ten championship baseball medal. In addition to swimming, Nakama played second base for the Buckeyes.

"I really treasured that one," Nakama said. "It was something different than all the swimming awards."

Police have no suspects, but a neighbor did report seeing a strange car parked in front of Nakama's house for more than an hour that morning when no one was home.

A few years ago, Pokey Watson Richardson's Olympic swimming gold medals were stolen, but later returned. In 1983, Emerick Ishikawa's weightlifting bronze medal from the 1948 Games was lost in a fire, which was thought to be arson.

OTHER Hawaii athletes also have missed Olympic participation and possibly medals for reasons beyond their control.

Duke Kahanamoku undoubtedly would have added to his hardware collection if the 1916 Games hadn't been canceled because of World War I. Steeplechaser Henry Marsh was near his peak in 1980 when the U.S. boycotted the Games - the same year Peter George was to have coached the weightlifters.

But unlike Nakama, they had other Olympics at which to shine.

At their best, the Games are about true courage and sportsmanship - in doses heavy enough to inspire the most cynical. Unfortunately, politics, cheating and the threat of violence permeate them, too - disturbing even the positive thinkers among us.

Now, as we prepare to settle in to watch these Games, let us hope the good stories dominate them. And maybe that whoever took Nakama's belongings will be hit by a pang of conscience. Those medals are worth infinitely more to him than they could ever be to anyone else.

Especially for someone like Keo Nakama, who had way more than his share of bad luck more than 50 years ago.