Kaleo Okalani Kanahele

Started: She began playing volleyball at age 10, and took up sitting volleyball at age 12. (teamusa.org, 03 Dec 2019) Reason: Her mother encouraged her to get involved in different activities as a child to improve her coordination. She first tried dancing and gymnastics before moving on to volleyball. "I don't remember life before sports to be honest. I started in gymnastics, then ballet which didn't last long, then basketball, then softball, and volleyball was actually the last sport I got into. It sounds dramatic, but sports didn't just change my life, they were my life [and still are]." (paralympic.org, 10 Apr 2021; teamusa.org, 03 Dec 2019) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Instagram profile, 12 May 2023) Awards: She was named Best Setter for the women's tournament at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (usavolleyball.org, 11 Nov 2022) She was named Most Valuable Player [MVP] and Best Setter at the 2019 World Super 6 event in Tokyo, Japan. (volleyballmag.com, 22 Nov 2019) She was named Best Setter at the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru. (teamusa.org, 22 Nov 2019) She was named Best Setter at the 2018 World Championships in Arnhem, Netherlands. (teamusa.org, 22 Nov 2019) In 2016 she was a member of the US national sitting volleyball team that was named the Paralympic Team of the Year by the United States Olympic Committee [USOC]. (usavolleyball.org, 01 Jan 2020) She was named the 2014 Female Sitting Team Player of the Year by USA Volleyball. (newsok.com, 01 Dec 2014) She was named the Best Setter at the 2014 World Championships in Elblag, Poland, and the 2011 Parapan American Zonal Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (teamusa.org, 01 Sep 2016) Additional Info: TOKYO PREGNANCY She discovered she was pregnant with her second child, Kai, shortly after arriving in Tokyo for the 2020 Paralympic Games, where she went on to win a gold medal. "I kind of had a feeling, so I was like, 'I will just bring some pregnancy tests with me and we'll see when we get there when I feel like I can take a breath'. I took [the test] a little bit before I ate breakfast that morning and then came back to the room before practice and saw that I was pregnant. I just felt so grateful to be pregnant and grateful that I was going to be able to do it with Kai with me. And then I started to have morning sickness right before our finals match but got through most of it, thankfully." (whattoexpect.com, 26 Jul 2024) BALANCING LIFE Her son Duke was born in 2017. "If I'm in the parenting role with Duke, I do my best to be present and be with him. When I'm at the shop baking or running the business, I do my best to be present there. Same if I am at practice, I choose to focus only on being at practice. I think as people we tend to spend a lot of time invested in thinking about what's next and not enough time of being where we are. [It] has always made me thankful for the time I'm with my family and time I'm on the court. Since time is the sacrifice it encourages me to make that sacrifice worth it. If I'm going to be away from my family I go into each practice or each match more intentional when I remember what I have sacrificed to be in that moment." She gave birth to a second son, Kai, in 2022. (paralympic.org, 10 Apr 2021; teamusa.org, 22 Nov 2019; Instagram profile, 13 Dec 2023)