Derek Ho

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Derek Ho (born September 26, 1964 in Kailua , † July 17, 2020 in Wahiawa ) was an American professional surfer from the island of Oahu in the US state of Hawaii . He was the first Polynesian to win the World Surfing Championship (1993).

Life

Derek Ho was born in Kailua, the son of a Waikiki surf instructor. His cousin was the well-known Hawaiian singer and entertainer Don Ho . He started surfing at the age of three. In the following years he did not take the sport that seriously. He got on the wrong track as a teenager and was arrested several times for theft. It was only after spending ten days in prison at the age of 18 that he decided to pursue his surfing career. He graduated from Kailua High School and later moved to Pupukea , where he lived just a minute from the beach.

Career

Ho was a goofy foot surfer. A surf school operator recognized his talent and sent him to a surfing competition in Japan in 1982 , where he reached the semi-finals and recognized his calling. A year later he won third place at the Pipeline Masters on the North Shore . In 1985 he reached the "Top 16" with his brother Michael. He was the winner of the Triple Crown of Surfing competition in 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1990. At the 1993 World Surfing Championships, he was only fifth after nine events, leaving only the Pipeline Masters. The big favorite was Kelly Slater . All other competitors failed one after the other on the eight-foot waves and Ho became the first native Hawaiian to win the world title. At 1.65 m, he was also the smallest and, until then, at 29 years old, the oldest world champion in surfing. He ended his surfing career in 1998 with nine "Top 16" wins.

Ho died on July 17, 2020 after a heart attack in a hospital in Wahiawa. The day before he was seen surfing on a beach in Pupukea.

Movies

He has appeared in over 50 surf films and videos, including:

  • Wave Warriors (1985)
  • Shock Waves (1987)
  • Surfers: The Movie (1990)
  • Aloha Bowls (1994)
  • TV Dinners (1995)
  • Side B (1997)

literature

  • Matt Warshaw: The Encyclopedia of Surfing , Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2005, pp. 161-162, ISBN 9780156032513

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Derek Ho archives.midweek.com , November 9, 2005, accessed July 23, 2020
  2. ↑ Derek Ho, Hawaii's first ever world professional surfing champion, has died sur proud.com , July 18, 2020, accessed on July 23, 2020 (English)
  3. ↑ Former surfing world champion Derek Ho dies at age 55 hawaiinewsnow.com , July 18, 2020, accessed on July 26, 2020 (English)
  4. ↑ World Champ And Pipeline Master Derek Ho Is In Critical Condition stabmag.com , accessed on July 23, 2020 (English)
personal data
SURNAME Ho, Derek
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American surfer
DATE OF BIRTH September 26, 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH Kailua
DATE OF DEATH 17th July 2020
Place of death Wahiawa