As a gold medalist at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Heather Olson knows what it's like to experience the pinnacle of artistic swimming.
Olson was a member of the U.S. team that brought home gold, back when the sport was known as synchronized swimming. Olson has stayed close to the sport, coaching the Walnut Creek Aquanuts, a club team in her native California.
For years, Olson has wanted to bring an international competition to Hawai‘i with hopes that the event could attract teams from Asia. From June 17-19, Olson's vision came to fruition with the inaugural Aloha Cup at the University of Hawai‘i's Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex. Teams from the Mainland, hailing from both the East Coast and West Coast, were a part of the field. Internationally, the event pulled teams from as far away as Greece.
"It's been amazing," Olson told Aloha State Daily during the final day of competition. "A lot of the times we're competing at very stressful events that are indoor pools. Just having that spirit of aloha and a little slower pace and a more relaxed invitational instead of the pressure of a national championship or a junior Olympics has been a nice change and refreshing for all of us as coaches and athletes. Still, a very high level competition, but you see the other teams that have come here, and they're having a wonderful time here."
Reaching the highest levels of the sport for Olson required years of work involving about 30 hours of practice per week. Though perhaps not as rigorous, she sees a high level of work ethic in members of her club. Putting on the invitational in the Islands during the summer has provided her swimmers and their families a chance to enjoy the fruits of their labor. The same has applied to other clubs in the invitational.
"Part of our goal was to have a flexible schedule so teams would have free time," Olson said. "They were all smiles. It's that kind of joy, and that aloha spirit that we really came here for, and so we wanted to pad that time in, so that teams from Greece could come and enjoy Hawai‘i, not just compete in Hawai‘i."
After a successful first event, Olson is hoping to bring it back in the near future.
"We're so honored to have been welcomed into this facility, and they've really taken good care of us and helped us sort of navigate running a competition from afar," Olson said."We had to set everything up from California which was challenging, but I think it's turned out really well. We hope we can do this again in the future — every other year is sort of our goal."
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
