Kathy Colin Latham’s kayaking career got off to a rocky start. At tryouts as a freshman, nerves got the best of her, and she walked out. It took participating in kayaking in after-school sports at Punahou to give her the confidence to try out again in her junior year.
“Looking back I just really wanted to participate in sports and did what I had to do,” said the two-time Olympian kayaker (Sydney, 2000 and Athens, 2004).
Even with two Olympics under her belt, her favorite race was in her senior year at Punahou.
Punahou was favored but locked ama (outriggers) with another school. After getting untangled, and being passed, “we were definitely a few boat lengths behind at the final turn into the final quarter-mile. Our boat never gave up … we put our heads down and dug in. By far my greatest racing memory of all time,” said Latham about her team’s comeback win.
Latham, who lettered in gymnastics for two years, also paddled all four years at Punahou. She received the McEldowney-Matthias Memorial Award as a junior and the C. Dudley Pratt Athlete-of-the-Year Award as a senior.