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Summary
Summary
The New York Times bestselling inspirational story of impoverished children who transformed themselves into world-class swimmers.
In 1937, a schoolteacher on the island of Maui challenged a group of poverty-stricken sugar plantation kids to swim upstream against the current of their circumstance. The goal? To become Olympians.
They faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The children were Japanese-American and were malnourished and barefoot. They had no pool; they trained in the filthy irrigation ditches that snaked down from the mountains into the sugarcane fields. Their future was in those same fields, working alongside their parents in virtual slavery, known not by their names but by numbered tags that hung around their necks. Their teacher, Soichi Sakamoto, was an ordinary man whose swimming ability didn't extend much beyond treading water.
In spite of everything, including the virulent anti-Japanese sentiment of the late 1930s, in their first year the children outraced Olympic athletes twice their size; in their second year, they were national and international champs, shattering American and world records and making headlines from L.A. to Nazi Germany. In their third year, they'd be declared the greatest swimmers in the world. But they'd also face their greatest obstacle: the dawning of a world war and the cancellation of the Games. Still, on the battlefield, they'd become the 20th century's most celebrated heroes, and in 1948, they'd have one last chance for Olympic glory.
They were the Three-Year Swim Club. This is their story.
Author Notes
Julie Checkoway is an author and documentary filmmaker. A graduate of Harvard, the Iowa Writers Workshop, and the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, she is also the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts individual artist grant and a Yaddo fellowship. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Salt Lake Tribune, and Huffington Post .
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
This rags-to-riches story revolves around school teacher Soichi Sakamoto, who took a group of Japanese-American children from a poor, segregated Hawaiian sugar plantation and taught them how to be champion swimmers, practicing in one of the plantation's fetid irrigation ditches. If the basis for the book doesn't sound amazing enough, how the story unfolds-Japan vying for the Olympic games, Pearl Harbor being bombed, WWII changing the world forever-allows the story and characters to evolve in uplifting and heartbreaking ways. Debut author Checkoway is equal to the task of telling this moving narrative. From page one, where she writes "Lip-locking lovers perambulated... and holiday makers gathered... under Maxfield Parrish skies," it is evident that Checkoway's ability to set a scene is uncanny and accomplished. Her top-notch skill as a researcher allows her to bring to life the long-forgotten saga of the swim team, which she fears might otherwise "simply disappear." Depicting determination, discrimination, hope, anguish, hard work, and hard choices, Checkoway has created a sports history that is singular in its own right, and a fitting testament to the over 200 youths who swam for many reasons toward one goal: "Olympics First! Olympics Always."(Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
The sugar ditch kids were nobodies. Living on a Maui sugar plantation in the 1930s meant a life of poverty, with one of the only joys splashing in the waters that fed the fields. But Soichi Sakamoto, a teacher who volunteered to supervise the kids swimming in an irrigation ditch, saw opportunity glistening in the turbid water. His quest to build world-class swimmers from the youngsters whose futures seemed to already be set in stone makes an inspiring true tale of grit and determination. As the ragtag Maui team's ambitions unfold with the credo Olympics first, Olympics always, so does Tokyo's bid for the 1940 games, but world events conspire against them both. Checkoway skillfully weaves vivid scenes into a larger narrative with a varied cast of characters to create a stirring, though exhaustive, account of the swimming club. The team's successes against an undercurrent of discrimination first in Hawaii and then the mainland and internationally turned heads and saw not only the sugar ditch swimmers, but also the sport itself, experience an explosive leap forward. Pair this with The Boys in the Boat (2013).--Thoreson, Bridget Copyright 2015 Booklist
Kirkus Review
A brightly told story of the triumph of underdogs. In 1937, Soichi Sakamoto formed the Three-Year Swim Club, whose members were children of workers living on a Hawaiian sugar plantation. Sakamoto, a teacher who could hardly swim, had seen them frolicking in a dirty, shallow ditch and made a proposition: "Three years of discipline. Three years of sacrifice. Three years of nothing except swimming" would yield great results. If they worked hard and cared enough, he was certain they could become members of the United States men's swim team at the 1940 Olympic Games, to be held in Tokyo. Filmmaker, journalist, and nonfiction writer Checkoway (Little Sister: Searching for the Shadow World of Chinese Women, 1996, etc.) fashions the story of the tireless Sakamoto and his eager swimmers into an exuberant, well-researched, if sometimes overly detailed celebration of unlikely champions. As a coach, Sakamoto combined encouragementhe learned the power of positive thinking from Norman Vincent Pealewith intense attention to stroke technique and training regimens. With the help of former Olympians and enthusiastic sportswriters, he publicized his team and raised money to send them around the world to compete, and they performed astoundingly well. His star, Keo Nakama, for example, swam against 1,100 competitors in Sydney, Australia, coming in first in every race. Not surprisingly, where money and fame were at stake, rivals emerged. One in particular tried to wrest control of the team from Sakamoto, criticizing his methods and manipulating himself into a position of power. But Sakamoto persisted, even when the 1940 Olympics were cancelled after Japan invaded China and subsequent games were scratched because of war. Not until 1948 did members of the teammen as well as womencompete in the Olympics, proving themselves champions. Details about training, swim times, and the team's travels occasionally overwhelm Checkoway's tense, vivid, and inspiring narrative. Not without its flaws, but a good choice for fans of David Halberstam's The Amateurs (1985), Daniel Boyne's The Red Rose Crew (2000), and similar books. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Looking at the 1930s and the 1940s through a Hawaiian Japanese American lens pre-sents a new perspective on the years leading up to World War II, the war itself, and the London Olympics. This is an incredible story about a Japanese American elementary school teacher, not a swimmer himself, who taught and coached "sugar ditch kids" to swim and eventually compete nationally and internationally. Through discipline and individualized training, Soichi Sakamoto propelled the sons and daughters of Japanese sugar plantation laborers to become international swimming stars and Olympic medalists despite harassment, snubs, and other discrimination. World War II erupted just as the swimmers reached their athletic prime. During the war there were no Olympics, and the boys were sent to Europe to fight for their country. All the Three-Year Swim Club members survived, and although they were nearly too old for competitive swimming, the strongest members earned spots on the U.S. Olympic team, competing in London in 1948. This remarkable story is narrated by Alex Chadwick, whose strong voice and flawless pronunciation of Japanese names enhance the listening experience. With a PDF of photos as well as author notes. Verdict The struggles and successes of this coach and his team will bring tears to listeners' eyes. The 2016 Rio Olympics should stimulate demand for this outstanding title. ["Sports and history enthusiasts will enjoy this title as much as book clubs and general readers": LJ 10/1/15 review of the Grand Central hc.]--Ann Weber, Los Gatos, CA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Preface | p. 1 |
| Part 1 Such Stuff as Dreams (1932-1937) | |
| Chapter 1 To Race with Giants | p. 7 |
| Chapter 2 Hardhead | p. 23 |
| Chapter 3 A Wide Awakening | p. 40 |
| Chapter 4 The Pursuit of Greater Ventures | p. 55 |
| Part 2 On Such a Sea (1938) | |
| Chapter 5 An Exercise of Will | p. 83 |
| Chapter 6 Owing to the Protracted Hostilities | p. 102 |
| Chapter 7 Keeping 1940 in Mind All the Time | p. 120 |
| Part 3 Taken at the Flood (1939) | |
| Chapter 8 Down Under | p. 147 |
| Chapter 9 Youths of the Sea | p. 167 |
| Chapter 10 The Coup | p. 187 |
| Part 4 A Tide in the Affairs of Men (1940-1941) | |
| Chapter 11 A Season of Flame | p. 205 |
| Chapter 12 Santa Barbara | p. 215 |
| Chapter 13 Mr. Smith Comes to Maui | p. 222 |
| Chapter 14 Blitzkrieg | p. 239 |
| Part 5 Fall Seven Times, Get Up Eight (Nana korobi, ya oki) (1944-1948) | |
| Chapter 15 Go for Broke | p. 265 |
| Chapter 16 Home Front | p. 284 |
| Chapter 17 Detroit, Redux (1948) | p. 307 |
| Chapter 18 Goals and Sacrifices | p. 325 |
| Afterword | p. 347 |
| Author's Notes | p. 353 |
| Section Notes | p. 359 |
| Three-Year Swim Club Members | p. 389 |
| Mahalo Nui Loa/Thank You | p. 393 |
| Index | p. 405 |
| About the Author | p. 417 |
