Record-setting swimmer to visit Kauai

To put your name in the record books, no matter what it is and how old you are, is a commendable feat. To do it while still a teenager is simply remarkable. 

Long-distance swimmer Leahi Camacho, from the Big Island, did just that. She will be on Kauai July 26 for the Hanalei Bay Swim Challenge to share her stories.

“I’m pretty excited to come to Kauai … I’ve only been to Kauai once,” Camacho said in a phone interview. 

Though her accomplishments are recent, her journey started when she was still a keiki. She did age group swimming when she was 6 years old and kept at it throughout high school. From there, she aimed higher.

“I did a couple of Alii Challenges … I just decided to go bigger. There’s not much endurance swimmers out here,” Camacho said. 

Perhaps her grandest accomplishment was conquering the Kaiwi Channel, pushing through a 26-mile swim from Molokai to Oahu in August. At 17 years old, she was the youngest ever to complete the task. 

When her swim began early that morning and went through the night, she didn’t face serious complications. She then hit a huge roadblock around sunrise — she was stung by a Portuguese man-of-war. 

“I was dry heaving and shaking uncontrollably,” Camacho said. 

The kayaker beside her said some words that helped her get through the ordeal.

“You can either be in pain now and suffer with the jellyfish sting, or you can be in pain and also suffer emotionally on the boat because you didn’t finish what you started,” the kayaker said.

It was that, and a little girl whom she held dear to her, that got her going, she said. 

The money she raised from the event was donated to the Talbert Family Foundation, which helps kids who are living with life-altering diseases. Three-year-old Hazel, who was suffering from stage 3 neuroblastoma, was to whom Camacho’s donation of nearly $3,000 went. 

“(While I was swimming), I had a bracelet with Hazel’s name on it,” Camacho said. She added she kept looking at it while she endured the sting and pushed on until she reached Oahu.

“It was pretty cool to see everybody clapping and happy,” she said. “Coming into the beach, thankfully the waves weren’t super huge.

“This whole time, I was hoping to inspire younger kids. Get them starting to believe that they can accomplish incredible things,” she added.

To add to her resume, she captured the Bike Works Triple Crown of open water swimming for the third consecutive year after completing the King’s Swim about two weeks ago. 

The award is given to the swimmer who achieves the lowest-cumulative time between the three Big Island races: the Cinco de Mayo Splash, the Hapuna Rough Water Swim and the King’s Swim. Each of which is about a mile long.

During the latest triple crown achievement, however, she found herself battling mono. She had to take a month off in the middle of training.

“I had to finish all three. It would feel incomplete if I didn’t,” she said. “I just wanted to end my high school career with a bang … I’m excited to start my new chapter in New York … I’ve fulfilled a lot of my dreams and I’m satisfied with what I’ve done here.”

She graduated from Kealakehe High School in May and will continue swimming at Wagner College on Staten Island, New York.

Before she heads off for the Big Apple though, she will stop by on the Garden Isle as a special guest at the Hanalei event.

“I’m really excited that it’s based on little kids and getting them in the water,” she said about the Hanalei event. “I really love when they get out and do something new … It even makes me cry. I just really love seeing kids super stoked.”

Camacho arrives on Thursday, July 24 and will stay for four days.

In addition to looking forward to checking out Kauai’s beaches, she said she’s most looking forward to spending this time with high school coach, Wendy Daniels.

“I’ve known her since seventh grade. She’s basically like a mother to me. I love her to death,” Camacho said of her coach. “I’m super thankful I’ll be sharing this with her.”