Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 3, 1 March 1992 — Hawaiian surgeon prepares for Oiympics [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hawaiian surgeon prepares for Oiympics

Story and photographs by Christina Zarobe While rapt television audiences worldwide watched the Winter 01ympics unfold last month, Dr. Allen B. Richardson, set his sights on the summer games in Barcelona, Spain. The Honolulu orthopedic surgeon is preparing for his fourth competition attending the United States 01ympic Swimming Teams. Since 1977, he has served as chief medical officer for United States Swimming, Ine., the nahonal governing body for competitive swimming. uIt's just a matter of making sure these kids are spending a lot of time trying to do their best. It's a terrible thing for them to get knocked out because they're sick," he says. Richardson has circled the globe traveling to

īnanana, uonaon,i Amsterdam, New Zealand, Winnepeg, Russia and Berlin since 1980 when he also| was appointed to the] International Medical Committee for Aquatics. The 12member committee,| whieh is part of aquatics FINA, determines the medical rules for swimming, such as urine testing.

Locally, Richardson swam for years both in the Hawai'i Swim Club as a youngster and then at college. But his dedication to swimming is more than sports enthusiasm. "There is no question that just being involved with swimming was probably one of the two most important things, developmentally, I had growing up," said the Hawaiian surgeon during an interview at his Queen's Medical Center office in Honolulu. Swimming gave Richardson an opportunity to become active in a sport and was aiso an asset when he applied to Yale University. But Richardson says it is the people involved in swimming who have left an impression on him and, "helped guide me through my life." The aquatic tradition has been carried on in the Richardson family. He and his wife, Pokey, have'three children, Andrew Barrister Moliakalaniikeola, Anne Kealiimaemae and Laura Kealiipunahele, who have all taken up the sport at Punahou School. Richardson is a 1965 graduate of the school and was recently

named to the trustee board. His work with swimming has been arduous though, requiring extensive trips of two to three months a year for the past 12 years. This July, however, the family will accompany Richardson to the Summer 01ympics, starting their travels in Norway and driving south to Barcelona where they will stay with a Spanish family. Closer to home, any exploring in Honolulu by a Richardson would probably uncover something, actually someone, familiar. "I guesstimate that I have a thousand relatives in this city," he says, adding that his family tree ean be traced back to the migrations of Tahitians from Tahiti. On the Islands, the first Richardson eame in 1807 to Lahaina, Maui, from Londonderry, Ireland, and married into a Hawaiian family. Richardson's grandfather was named by Queen Lili'uokalani when he was born — Arnold Barrister Moliakalaniikeola Richardson. His great-grandfather had served as one of the queen's barristers and the name was passed on. Richardson's father, who graduated from the University of Hawai'i and Yale, was the first Hawaiian to become an orthopedic surgeon. Since his father's death, Richardson says he is now the only Hawaiian in his particular medi-

eal field. Yet whatever profes-l sion Hawaiians chose,| Richardson believes it| is critical for the peo-l ple to "maximize edu-l cation" and then aiml for success. "Essentially, we as Hawaiians need to bel as mueh a part of running ourselves as we ean within the democratic framework," he says. "We need to be

the ones who control and are the big names in all phases of Hawaiian society." While the issue of self determination hits the front pages and nightly newscasts statewide, Richardson readily admits he is neither a "secessionist nor am I necessarily looking for sovereignty for Hawaiians. "The worst thing we could do, in my opinion, right now would be to separate ourselves out of this society — the worst," he says emphatically. "We just have to figure out how

to educate more Hawaiians." Governing as a separate nation, Richardson counters, would leave Hawaiians economically "dependent" on some entity. But under this new system Hawaiians wouldn't be able to use voting as a way of voicing their opinion to that entity or government. "That would be a detriment to the Hawaiian race. It's a total impossibility," Richardson says.

nisioncaiiy, |Hawaiians have endured hardship with the overthrow of the government and diseases that ravaged the population, he says. But he argues that Hawaiians have not had to fight the "ugly,persistent" stereotypes NativeAmericans and

African-Americans have battled on the Mainland. "Thank goodness that we did not ever suffer the same fate as Indians and other minorities in this country. We were never put on reservations." One reason is the tourism industry, Richardson says, and points to the recent "Aloha is Good for Business" advertisements by the Hawai'i Visitors Bureau as an example. "The real thing that has kept the (Hawaiian) renaissance going is the realization that our main industry, tourism, would not exist without the Hawaiian culture." "And we are very, very lucky as a race that is the case," Richardson says. Through tourism and programs such as the Today Show, whieh last fall spent a week on location in Hawai'i, the rest of the United States and beyond have been able to leam about the Hawaiian culture. Thus, Richardson believes, education about Hawaiiana has been encouraged rather than allowing ignorance to breed stereotypes or racism. "The biggest advance we have made with tourism is the fact that people accept Hawaiian culture as being neat. It's different but it's equal to anything else we've got," he says. As for U.S. chances of capturing a gold medal in swimming at the summer games, Richardson is optimistic. While fierce competition is expected from China, he confidently says, "We're going to be the strongest team there by far."