WAIKOLOA — More than 250 swimmers turned out at Anaehoomalu Bay on Saturday for the Anaehoomalu Splash, the opening event of the Big Island’s Triple Crown Swim Race Series.
Hosted by the Kona Aquatics Club, the Triple Crown series includes three 1-mile ocean swims: the Anaehoomalu Splash, the upcoming Hapuna Rough Water Swim on June 7, and the Kamakahonu Swim on July 5. Each race crowns individual male and female winners, but the ultimate prize goes to the swimmer with the fastest combined time across all three — earning the title of Triple Crown Champion and bragging rights as the island’s top open water swimmer.
The conditions were typical Waikoloa with sunny skies and strong winds that bent coconut palms surrounding the bay. In comparison to last year’s near perfect water conditions, Saturday’s ocean conditions were less than ideal.
“It’s a beautiful morning although it’s a little breezy out here today, but I think we are going to be okay,” said race director and Kona Aquatics Club head coach, Dave Gibson. “The ocean has got a nice little sheen across of it and we have about 250 swimmers out here today. It’s going to be an awesome day. I predict our Fiji swimmers will be our top contenders.”
Gibson was talking about his two Kona Aquatic swimmers, Zane Imonen and Kiliheamaikalani “Kinsey” Oka. Imonen, a 17-year old junior at 91直播 Preparatory Academy, was the defending Triple Crown Race Series champion. While Oka, a 16-year old sophomore at Kealakehe High School, was a two-time Triple Crown Race Series women’s champion (2023 and 2024). Both also recently qualified to compete in the 2026 Oceania Swimming Championships, set for Suva, Fiji from May 8–13.
After the countdown, the race unfolded just as Gibson predicted. Imonen didn’t force it early and stayed with California’s Alex Kostich until the halfway point of the out-and-back course. Then it seemed there was a shift in the temple of the race. Suddenly, spectators could see the splash of a clear leader heading back to the sandy beach, even flipping to do backstroke to check the field before powering back to the finish line. It was Imonen.
“It feels really good!” said Imonen, who won in a time of 21 minutes and 7 seconds. “On the way out I was with Alex, but then he went straight to the third orange buoy. But then I started looking around for another buoy because it didn’t feel right. Then next thing I knew I was coming back in. I felt really strong and excited for Fiji because I felt good.”
When asked about doing backstroke during the race and if the wind affected his strategy, Imonen smiled.
“I was checking to see where Alex was,” laughed Imonen. “I wanted to make sure we were on the same path because I wasn’t sure if he was on the side of me. At that point I realized I had a lead and it made me feel really good.
“The wind didn’t really affect my race strategy. I did Lavaman out here with the wind so I felt I had some experience. I went out strong and then narrowed my stroke on the way back in because of the wind and the chop and I think that really helped.”
Following Imonen was Kostich in a time of 21:58 and Kailua-Kona’s Ethan Ng in third place with a great time of 22:09.
On the women’s side, it was no surprise to see Oka dominate from start to finish. Oka claimed her third Anaehoomalu Splash title in a time of 22:33.
“It felt great!” Oka said of her swim. “Honestly, I had such a great race! I was with Ethan (Ng) and Kelan (Kennedy) the whole way and then I got dropped like a usually do and had to swim by myself coming in. The conditions were actually really good. It was a little choppy but overall, I felt great about it.”
Oka estimated that she has competed in over ten swim races at Anaehoomalu Bay which gave her an advantage sighting through the sunlight on her way back in.
“I just told myself to look for the strobe and the palm trees to sight and luckily you can see land the whole way in that tells you that you are almost there,” she said. “I think with today’s win, I feel really strong heading into Fiji. I feel really excited for the 5K (open water race) and the relay (4 x 1500 meter). I fly out to Oahu on Monday and on Tuesday to Fiji.”
The next two spots went to last year’s Anaehoomalu Splash women’s champion, Holualoa’s Noelani Clark, and Washington’s Maureen Phillips with their times of 24:15 and 24:21 respectively.
The next stop in the race series is the Hapuna Rough Water swim on June 7 and the Kamakahonu Swim on July 5.
