Anaehoomalu Splash opens Big Island Triple Crown Swim series with 250 swimmers

More than 250 swimmers turned Anaeho'omalu Bay in Waikoloa into the Big Island’s first open-water proving ground of the season, and Kona Aquatics swimmers Zane Imonen and Kiliheamaikalani “Kinsey” Oka again set the pace.

Imonen won the overall 1-mile swim in 21:07, while Oka finished first among women and second overall in 22:33. Their results gave the Anaeho'omalu Splash a familiar local storyline: Kona Aquatics talent at the front of the field, with the club continuing to supply some of the island’s best open-water racers.

The swim opened the 2026 Triple Crown Ocean Swim Series, a three-race circuit hosted by Kona Aquatics for the fifth consecutive year. The series includes the Anaeho'omalu Splash, the Hapuna Rough Water Swim on June 7 and the Kamakahonu Swim on July 5. Swimmers who complete all three races will receive a 2026 Triple Crown swim cap at the Kamakahonu Swim, a prize that has made the series a target for both serious competitors and families chasing a shared finish.

Conditions at Waikoloa were not easy. The morning was sunny, but strong wind bent coconut palms around the bay and made the ocean less forgiving than in calmer years. Race director and Kona Aquatics Club head coach Dave Gibson said the bay held about 250 swimmers, a sign that the event continues to draw a broad mix of ages and abilities, not just the fastest athletes.

That mix is part of the reason the series has become a fixture in West Hawaii. The ocean-swim format gives local clubs a place to test fitness, measure progress and bring together swimmers who train in different pools and different towns, from Kailua-Kona to the broader Big Island community. Anaeho'omalu Bay, already one of Waikoloa’s best-known gathering places, has become a signature venue for a race that blends competition with community pride.

The top finishes also came as Imonen and Oka were set to represent Team Hawaii at the 2026 Oceania Swimming Championships in Suva, Fiji, from May 8 to 13. Imonen’s win carried extra weight after he also took the overall title at the 2025 Anaeho'omalu Splash in 21:30.6, while Noelani Vargas won the women’s overall race last year in 23:05.1.

Registration incentives added to the draw. The first 275 entries for Anaeho'omalu Splash were eligible for a beach bag at check-in, and race-day packet pickup ran from 7 to 8 a.m., with warm-up from 7:15 to 8 a.m. The details underscored what the event has become for West Hawaii: a well-run ocean race, a club showcase and a spring gathering that keeps Anaeho'omalu Bay at the center of Big Island swimming.