Snowboard Phenom
Abigail Kahanamoku was born to be one with the snowboard. At the tender age of 3, when most kids are just learning to bike, Abigail was at Squaw Valley Ski Resort cruising down the mountainside on her 3 foot custom made snowboard her dad special ordered especially for her. At the age of 5, Abigail won her first pro amateur snowboard competition in the Gatorade Free Flow Tour in Vail Ski Resort in Colorado. She was the smallest competitor ever to enter and win the contest in its 10 year history. During the Olympic trials to qualify for the US Olympic Team for the 2006 Winter Olympics, Abigail suffered the chickenpox and could not continue with the trials despite the best efforts by Stanford doctors to suppress the viral infection. She would have her turn in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada where she overpowered the competition tallying 5 gold medals in the half-pipe, snowboard cross (3 golds), and slopestyle competitions. Despite her dominating performance at an early age, Abigail curtailed her snowboarding competitions to be able to concentrate on school.
Abigail was born in Santa Cruz, California in March 15, 2000 to the well-known surf legend and since retired Deng Kahanamoku (great-great-great-grandchild of Duke Kahanamoku of Hawaii). To get Abigail to balance herself on a snowboard at the age of 2, Deng stated, “Abigail would copy whatever I did – calisthenics and yoga were key.” Abigail stated she may consider trying out for the US Team for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Only then can the whole world witness the snowboard phenom once again.
Darren Malabanan