Abstract des Autors

In this article the author engages with current debates in biography that argue for an expanded definition of what constitutes biography beyond life writing, writing of lives, and commemorative writing. Consistent with understandings of biography as a cultural practice that can assume multiple forms, the author argues that statues of individuals constitute a type of biography. This complements previous approaches to statues in sport history as artistic works, or as acts of social memory, by focusing on how the literal shaping of the objectified athlete influences understandings of the past in the present. Here the author refers to five statues of legendary Hawaiian athlete Duke Paoa Kahanamoku – existing, planned and imaginary – at Christchurch in New Zealand, Freshwater Beach in Sydney, Huntington Beach in California, Waikiki Beach in Hawaii, and on the theatre stage. As acts of memory, each incarnation also narrates biographies of Kahanamoku that underscore the importance of visual culture in sport history. Verf.-Referat (geändert)