Derek Ho (September 26, 1964 – July 17, 2020) was a Hawaiian Chinese surfer who won the world surfing championship in 1993. Ho was born in

Kailua, Honolulu County, Hawaii Kailua () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. It lies in the Koolaupoko District of the island of Oahu on the windward coast at Kailua Bay. It is in the judicial district and the ahupua'a named Ko'o ...

. He began surfing at the age of three, and won the world title at age 29, making him the first Native Hawaiian world champion. Derek Ho was the brother of Michael Ho, another champion surfer, and the first cousin of

Don Ho Donald Tai Loy Ho (August 13, 1930 – April 14, 2007) was a Hawaiian traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer. He is best known for the song "Tiny Bubbles" from the album of the same name. Life and career Ho was a singer of Native ...

, the Hawaiian singer. He was the uncle of professional surfers

Mason Ho Mason Ho (born September 1, 1988) is a professional surfer from Sunset Beach on Oahu's North Shore. A member of the Ho surfing dynasty, Mason is the son of professional surfer Michael Ho, brother of Coco Ho, and nephew to World Champion surfer De ...

and Coco Ho. On July 17, 2020, Ho was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack; he subsequently fell into a coma and died late that afternoon.

References

1964 births 2020 deaths American sportspeople of Chinese descent American surfers Hawaii people of Chinese descent People from Honolulu County, Hawaii Sportspeople from Hawaii World Surf League surfers {{Surfing-stub

See also

References