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Three Kings: How Record-Smashing Swimmers Johnny Weissmuller, Duke Kahanamoku, and Katsuo Takaishi Changed Their Sport and Each Other Forever
For fans of The Boys in the Boat, and marking the 100th anniversary of the Paris Olympics, the never-before-told story of three athletes who defied the odds to usher in a golden age of sports.
Even today, it’s considered one of the most thrilling races in Olympic history. The one-hundred-meter sprint final at the 1924 Paris Games, featuring the world’s three fastest swimmers—American legends Duke Kahanamoku and Johnny Weissmuller and Japanese upstart Katsuo Takaishi—had the cultural impact of the Super Bowl and Wimbledon and the World Cup finals put together. Never before had a major swimming event featured athletes of different races, and never had it been broadcast live. Across the globe, fans held their breath.
In less than a minute, an Olympic record would be shattered, and the three men would be scrutinized like few athletes before them. For the millions worldwide for whom swimming was a complete unknown, the trio did something few could moving faster through water than many could on land. As sportsmen, they were god-like heroes, embodying the hopes of those who called them their own in the US and abroad. They personified strength and speed and the glamor and innovation of the Roaring Twenties. But they also represented fraught assumptions about race and human performance. It was not only “East vs. West,” as newspapers in the 1920s described the competition with Japan. It was also brown versus white. Rich versus poor. New versus old. The race was about far more than swimming.
Each man was a trailblazer and a bona fide celebrity in an age when athletes typically weren’t famous. Kahanamoku was Hawaii’s first superstar, largely responsible for making the state the popular travel destination it is today. Weissmuller, a poor immigrant, put Chicago on the sports map and would make it big as Hollywood’s first Tarzan. Takaishi inspired Japan to compete on the world stage and helped turn its swimmers into Olympic powerhouses. He and Kahanamoku in particular shattered the myth of white superiority when it came to sports, putting the lie to the decade’s burgeoning eugenics movement.
Three Kings traces the careers and rivalries of these men and the epochal times they lived in. The 1920s were transformative not just socially but for sports as well. For the first time, athletes of color were given a fair (though still not equal) chance, and competition wasn’t limited to the wealthy and privileged. Our modern-day conception of athleticism and competition—especially as it relates to the Olympics—traces back to this era and athletes like Kahanamoku, Weissmuller, and Takaishi, whose hard-won victories paved the way for all who followed.
Even today, it’s considered one of the most thrilling races in Olympic history. The one-hundred-meter sprint final at the 1924 Paris Games, featuring the world’s three fastest swimmers—American legends Duke Kahanamoku and Johnny Weissmuller and Japanese upstart Katsuo Takaishi—had the cultural impact of the Super Bowl and Wimbledon and the World Cup finals put together. Never before had a major swimming event featured athletes of different races, and never had it been broadcast live. Across the globe, fans held their breath.
In less than a minute, an Olympic record would be shattered, and the three men would be scrutinized like few athletes before them. For the millions worldwide for whom swimming was a complete unknown, the trio did something few could moving faster through water than many could on land. As sportsmen, they were god-like heroes, embodying the hopes of those who called them their own in the US and abroad. They personified strength and speed and the glamor and innovation of the Roaring Twenties. But they also represented fraught assumptions about race and human performance. It was not only “East vs. West,” as newspapers in the 1920s described the competition with Japan. It was also brown versus white. Rich versus poor. New versus old. The race was about far more than swimming.
Each man was a trailblazer and a bona fide celebrity in an age when athletes typically weren’t famous. Kahanamoku was Hawaii’s first superstar, largely responsible for making the state the popular travel destination it is today. Weissmuller, a poor immigrant, put Chicago on the sports map and would make it big as Hollywood’s first Tarzan. Takaishi inspired Japan to compete on the world stage and helped turn its swimmers into Olympic powerhouses. He and Kahanamoku in particular shattered the myth of white superiority when it came to sports, putting the lie to the decade’s burgeoning eugenics movement.
Three Kings traces the careers and rivalries of these men and the epochal times they lived in. The 1920s were transformative not just socially but for sports as well. For the first time, athletes of color were given a fair (though still not equal) chance, and competition wasn’t limited to the wealthy and privileged. Our modern-day conception of athleticism and competition—especially as it relates to the Olympics—traces back to this era and athletes like Kahanamoku, Weissmuller, and Takaishi, whose hard-won victories paved the way for all who followed.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published July 2, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
July 14, 2024
eBook ARC- 2 Stars
Audiobook ARC - 4 Stars [for narrator]
This was very disappointing. There seemed to be a lot of words with little story - I kept waiting for it to be more coherent, more interesting, more...anything, and it just never did.
While there were parts that were interesting [I never knew about Johnny Weismuller NOT being born in America and what lengths they all went through so he could compete in the Olympics as an American athlete (UGH) and how disappointing it was to read all that (it really took away from his accomplishments), and I don't recall ever even hearing Katsuo Takaishi's name before this book (and I have watched swimming for years; apprently I just wasn't paying attention; shame on me) and was left wishing this book had been all about him], there just wasn't enough of a cohesive story to keep me fully engaged; I thought about quitting multiple times but kept hoping it would get better. For me, it just never did.
I love Edoardo Ballerini as a narrator - he is one of my absolute favorites and I was 1. so glad I got this audiobook ARC, and 2. that he was the narrator.
Unfortunately, even this amazing narrator couldn't save this book for me [through no fault of his own - he gave it his best I could tell, but you can only do so much when you are given so little to work with [I cannot even imagine how annoying the end and the "source notes" must have been to record - MEH].
Again, I cannot fault him at all; he did his job [and did it well[ and was the only reason really that I was able to finish this book. I am grateful for that.
Thank you to NetGalley, Todd Balf, Edoardo Ballerini - Narrator, Blackstone Publishing INC/Scribd - Everand Publishing and Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.
Audiobook ARC - 4 Stars [for narrator]
This was very disappointing. There seemed to be a lot of words with little story - I kept waiting for it to be more coherent, more interesting, more...anything, and it just never did.
While there were parts that were interesting [I never knew about Johnny Weismuller NOT being born in America and what lengths they all went through so he could compete in the Olympics as an American athlete (UGH) and how disappointing it was to read all that (it really took away from his accomplishments), and I don't recall ever even hearing Katsuo Takaishi's name before this book (and I have watched swimming for years; apprently I just wasn't paying attention; shame on me) and was left wishing this book had been all about him], there just wasn't enough of a cohesive story to keep me fully engaged; I thought about quitting multiple times but kept hoping it would get better. For me, it just never did.
I love Edoardo Ballerini as a narrator - he is one of my absolute favorites and I was 1. so glad I got this audiobook ARC, and 2. that he was the narrator.
Unfortunately, even this amazing narrator couldn't save this book for me [through no fault of his own - he gave it his best I could tell, but you can only do so much when you are given so little to work with [I cannot even imagine how annoying the end and the "source notes" must have been to record - MEH].
Again, I cannot fault him at all; he did his job [and did it well[ and was the only reason really that I was able to finish this book. I am grateful for that.
Thank you to NetGalley, Todd Balf, Edoardo Ballerini - Narrator, Blackstone Publishing INC/Scribd - Everand Publishing and Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.
July 2, 2024
This book chronicles the lives of three competitors from the 1924 Olympics in Paris who shattered all existing swimming records. Legends Duke Kahanamoku, Johnny Weissmuller, and Katsuo Takaishi were the superstars of the day. 100 years later, their stories are still remarkable. Many thanks to NetGalley for this remarkable ARC/audiobook.
July 30, 2024
Audiobook version, bad reader.
May 22, 2025
I was originally drawn to Todd Balf’s Three Kings and its depiction of the exploits of the 1924 Men’s Olympic Swimming Team, not so much for the swimming, but for its association with my family’s connection to the 1924 Paris Olympics. My grandfather was the Assistant Manager of the U.S. Boxing Team. He lived with us for a few years when I was a teenager and treated me to dozens of stories about growing up in Brooklyn, NY, going to work as an office boy at thirteen and launching the first Golden Gloves as well as his trips to the Olympics in 1924, 1928 and 1932. I imagined my grandfather shipboard en route to Paris with these phenomenal athletes.
Balf, a resident of Beverly, MA writes about little known stories with outsize impact and Three Kings is no different. He chronicles the careers of Duke Kahanamoku, Katsuo Takaishi and Johnny Weissmuller, three swimmers who ruled the sport in the first quarter of the 21st century. Balf digs deep to explain the unique elements of the swimming cultures of the Hawaiian Islands, Japan and the U.S. clubs from New York, Chicago and San Francisco as well as the rise of the first generation of nationally and internationally revered sports icons, suggesting as some did “…that Weissmuller, even at seventeen, belonged with the four greats: Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Charlie Paddock and the racehorse Man o’ War.”
I was even more interested in the story-behind-the-story which involves issues of race, class and ethnicity that all three athletes faced in three very different geographies – Kahanamoku from the Hawaiian Islands before statehood, Takaishi from a modernizing Japan that faced U.S. immigration quotas of the time, and Weissmuller from Chicago’s touch neighborhoods for a newly arrived Hungarian immigrant family, just after WWI. As Kahanamoku and other Hawaiian swimmers succeeded in integrating the sport, they suffered racism, mistreatment and blatant prejudice in the press and broader society. Balf recalls the high interest in eugenics and the white superiority debate of the first two decades of the 20th century – direct descendants of discourse on Christian nationalism and replacement theory 100 years later.
Balf, a resident of Beverly, MA writes about little known stories with outsize impact and Three Kings is no different. He chronicles the careers of Duke Kahanamoku, Katsuo Takaishi and Johnny Weissmuller, three swimmers who ruled the sport in the first quarter of the 21st century. Balf digs deep to explain the unique elements of the swimming cultures of the Hawaiian Islands, Japan and the U.S. clubs from New York, Chicago and San Francisco as well as the rise of the first generation of nationally and internationally revered sports icons, suggesting as some did “…that Weissmuller, even at seventeen, belonged with the four greats: Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Charlie Paddock and the racehorse Man o’ War.”
I was even more interested in the story-behind-the-story which involves issues of race, class and ethnicity that all three athletes faced in three very different geographies – Kahanamoku from the Hawaiian Islands before statehood, Takaishi from a modernizing Japan that faced U.S. immigration quotas of the time, and Weissmuller from Chicago’s touch neighborhoods for a newly arrived Hungarian immigrant family, just after WWI. As Kahanamoku and other Hawaiian swimmers succeeded in integrating the sport, they suffered racism, mistreatment and blatant prejudice in the press and broader society. Balf recalls the high interest in eugenics and the white superiority debate of the first two decades of the 20th century – direct descendants of discourse on Christian nationalism and replacement theory 100 years later.
August 28, 2024
This is the latest from best-selling author, Todd Balf, who is a master storyteller. He has diligently researched the origin of the famed swimming meet from the 1924 Olympics that introduces us to Johnny Weissmuller, Duke Kahanamoku and Katsuo Takaishi, who were the main protagonists in the most watched pool race of the '24 Olympics. For many of us, we knew Weissmuller from his cinematic past, but the story deftly introduces us to Hawaiian royalty, the Kahanamoku family and the legendary Duke, and to Japanese swimming legend, Takaishi. All three of these swimmers have incredible stories of overcoming barriers, some natural, and some contrived. Duke Kahanamoku was already a gold-medal swimming champ twice over, for example, but had to overcome unfair conditions on a number of occasions to gain victory. Takaishi faced the profound anti-Asian backlash of that time. This book also introduces us to a bevy of colorful characters that created a circus-like atmosphere to the early Olympic games.
What we also learned was the backstory of the racism prevalent at that time that greatly impacted athletes of diversity. The true story could not properly be told without the knowledge of the barriers that Duke Kahanamoku and Katsuo Takaishi faced in making it to the Paris Olympics of 1924. This book cannot be better timed having just concluded the 100-year anniversary of these games at the same host city, Paris, that indiscriminately welcomed nations around the globe and highlighted diversity. Today's top swimmers owe a debt to these three swimming legends, having made their sport an international favorite, and who ushered in the modern-day crawl stroke.
This book also tells the poignant story of how these three lives intertwined over a half century. Without giving too much away, I encourage you to read this exceptional book written by a man who shares an athletic background and has a real appreciation for achievements on the field, track, and swimming pool.
Great timely read.
What we also learned was the backstory of the racism prevalent at that time that greatly impacted athletes of diversity. The true story could not properly be told without the knowledge of the barriers that Duke Kahanamoku and Katsuo Takaishi faced in making it to the Paris Olympics of 1924. This book cannot be better timed having just concluded the 100-year anniversary of these games at the same host city, Paris, that indiscriminately welcomed nations around the globe and highlighted diversity. Today's top swimmers owe a debt to these three swimming legends, having made their sport an international favorite, and who ushered in the modern-day crawl stroke.
This book also tells the poignant story of how these three lives intertwined over a half century. Without giving too much away, I encourage you to read this exceptional book written by a man who shares an athletic background and has a real appreciation for achievements on the field, track, and swimming pool.
Great timely read.
December 12, 2024
There are few things I enjoy more than the history of the modern Olympics - they provide a perfect backdrop to examine almost every political, social, and cultural movement of the last century and a half, and usually involve a cast of characters that couldn't be made up. I bring that up only to point out that my hopes and expectations for this book may vary from those of a casual reader, so your mileage may vary.
First, the good:
*The author is clearly passionate and knowledgeable about the Olympics, swimming, and sports culture in the early 20th century, and that comes across clearly - particularly in the source notes at the end, which I particularly enjoyed because they are frequently not included in audiobooks.
* The research is extensive and includes sources often overlooked, like scrapbooks and letters of friends and family, TV and radio recordings and transcripts, and cross-referencing dates and locations with seemingly unrelated events that turn out to be quite relevant.
However:
The title would be accurate without the "Three Kings" at the front. There are clearly parallels and interactions between Duke Kahanamoku and Johnny Weissmuller that make their stories intertwine in a somewhat linear (if often awkward and slightly forced) way. However, the sections about Katsuo Takaishi feel like excerpts from another work - his story is fascinating and I would love to hear more about him, but his interactions with Duke and Johnny were too minimal to blend the three of them into a single chronology.
Overall, for someone who is deeply interested in the modern Olympics, sports history, sports culture in the 1910's-1920's, or any of the three central figures, this is worth a read to pick up a few new facts to enhance what you already know. For someone coming in with limited background, I would not recommend this as a starting point - seek out one of the many excellent (and cited in this book) existing biographies or histories to get the lay of the land, then come back to this one to fill in a few blanks.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
First, the good:
*The author is clearly passionate and knowledgeable about the Olympics, swimming, and sports culture in the early 20th century, and that comes across clearly - particularly in the source notes at the end, which I particularly enjoyed because they are frequently not included in audiobooks.
* The research is extensive and includes sources often overlooked, like scrapbooks and letters of friends and family, TV and radio recordings and transcripts, and cross-referencing dates and locations with seemingly unrelated events that turn out to be quite relevant.
However:
The title would be accurate without the "Three Kings" at the front. There are clearly parallels and interactions between Duke Kahanamoku and Johnny Weissmuller that make their stories intertwine in a somewhat linear (if often awkward and slightly forced) way. However, the sections about Katsuo Takaishi feel like excerpts from another work - his story is fascinating and I would love to hear more about him, but his interactions with Duke and Johnny were too minimal to blend the three of them into a single chronology.
Overall, for someone who is deeply interested in the modern Olympics, sports history, sports culture in the 1910's-1920's, or any of the three central figures, this is worth a read to pick up a few new facts to enhance what you already know. For someone coming in with limited background, I would not recommend this as a starting point - seek out one of the many excellent (and cited in this book) existing biographies or histories to get the lay of the land, then come back to this one to fill in a few blanks.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
August 17, 2024
The Paris Olympics inspired me to read this autobiographical history of three star swimmers from the 1924 Paris games; Duke Kahanamoku, Johnny Weissmuller and Katsuo Takaishi. It reads a bit like The Boys in the Boat, with details about the 1924 games in general as well as the biographical sketches of each of the three swimmers. While the writing is not scintillating, the details of life on Waikiki, in Osaka and in Chicago in the early years of the twentieth century are full of detail and interesting for their cultural context alone. The level of racism and, it must be noted, sexism rampant in society in the 19110s and 20s is both appalling and discouraging. Even if he hadn't been such a good sprinter, the deck was stacked in Weissmuller's favor. This tale is a warning for many of our current human rights issues.
October 15, 2024
Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Audio for the audiobook ARC.
Three Kings was a fascinating read. I would imagine I'm not the only one who will first hear the names of these three swimming giants while listening to this audiobook. However, I'm glad to have rectified this. The stories told in this book mirror the courage of Jackie Robinson and Jesse Owens, and I'm glad to be better educated about these athletes. This book is definitely for you if you enjoy stories of sports heroes, overcoming long odds, or anything to do with the Olympic games.
Three Kings was a fascinating read. I would imagine I'm not the only one who will first hear the names of these three swimming giants while listening to this audiobook. However, I'm glad to have rectified this. The stories told in this book mirror the courage of Jackie Robinson and Jesse Owens, and I'm glad to be better educated about these athletes. This book is definitely for you if you enjoy stories of sports heroes, overcoming long odds, or anything to do with the Olympic games.
November 25, 2024
Interesting nonfiction about 3 swimming stars who each brought something to the early Olympic games. Duke Kahanamoku from Hawaii, Johnny Weissmuller, not born in the US, but his naturalized citizenship was hidden and Katsuo Takaishi, a Japanese swimmer who inspired Japan to build an Olympic team. They lived in the 1920's and competed against each other dealing with poverty, race, national identities and the sheer wildness of sports competition. At times it was a bit difficult to follow the story as I listened in the car.
December 24, 2024
The well told story of three swimmers competing for Olympic gold and bringing in the era of the Olympics. The one-hundred-meter sprint final at the 1924 Paris Games, featuring the world’s three fastest swimmers—American legends Duke Kahanamoku and Johnny Weissmuller and Japanese upstart Katsuo Takaish is well told. We have been to see the statue of Duke in Waikiki beach. He is very impressive in this book. I remember seeing some of the Tarzan movies and knew that Johnny Weissmuller swam. I did not know anything prior to this book about Katsuo Takaish.
December 27, 2024
It's rare to see exhaustive research come together in a seamlessly told human drama--but Todd Balf pulls it off in Three Kings. He tells us of three athletic pioneers as they invent swimming strokes and shatter records as they approach the moment when they are in the same pool at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Their efforts change swimming forever and it echoes beautifully to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Three Kings is a must read for any sports enthusiast.
August 7, 2024
An Olympic Effort
A great story of three swimmers, their teammates, and compatriots and how they changed the swimming game. A treatise on the Olympics and racism of the time, the chase for records, and enduring friendships among competitors. Great piece of history and decent read.
A great story of three swimmers, their teammates, and compatriots and how they changed the swimming game. A treatise on the Olympics and racism of the time, the chase for records, and enduring friendships among competitors. Great piece of history and decent read.
August 16, 2024
This book follow the history of three swimmers whose quest for records in the 1920s brought their sport into focus as they competed in the Olympics. All of them had to deal with racism and prejudice. One was German, one was Hawaiian, one was Japanese. All three developed unique swimming styles by adapting the crawl stroke for their own special characteristics.
October 22, 2024
The subject is interesting and I stuck with the book all the way through hoping it would get better. I think the author is not the correct person to tell the story of these three athletes. A good idea with a poor execution. I'm still glad I read it I'm just going to have to find a different source for the story I had hoped this book would provide.
December 14, 2024
Interesting read but a bit difficult to follow. The author research was extraordinary. His chronicles of events, facts and historical stories interwoven with one another was difficult for me at times. If you want to know all there is to know about swimming in the 1924 Olympics this is the book for you.
July 12, 2024
TMI - too much information - and LOTS of racisim as was true in this country. I'm certainly not faulting the author for including the truth about his country in the early 1920's but I found I didn't want to read about it.
August 16, 2024
3.8. It was slow and methodical at times but overall fascinating story about early swimming and specifically Olympic swimming and race issues associated. I’d definitely recommend for anyone with any interest in swim
July 3, 2024
What?! I knew it was short, but it just ended so abruptly. This book seemed like a rough draft to something more fleshed out.
August 27, 2024
In an Olympic year this is the perfect time to brush up on some sports history, and Todd Balf's Three Kings is an excellent choice to do just that. Such a compelling work of sports history.
November 30, 2024
Good information but some judicial editing could’ve been used to get rid of the repetition.
February 20, 2025
Great read for sports fans who want to know the history of swimming and the Olympics.
August 11, 2024
I had Olympic vibes and this was perfect. More informational than entertaining, but I learned a lot and it was fun to read about the Paris Olympics 100 yrs ago. So much has changed in swimming!!
August 21, 2024
Cool listening to this while the summer Olympics were taking place. Loved hearing about how strokes were developed in swimming and about the historic pools and classic swimmers. The stories told were a bit hard to follow and kept jumping back and forth. Not sure that the relationships between all three swimmers really came into play but it was a cool listen on a road trip.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews