Tehani Kong’s journey starts in her hometown in Hawaii. As a young child, she was always active on the water, and had many friends who enjoyed the water as well. As her friend group gradually moved on from swimming, Kong decided to stick with the sport, evolving into one of Cal State East Bay’s most proficient swimmers.

“I always grew up around the water, and I just found that, for me, it’s a place where I can just be calm, and then refresh, and be more myself,” Kong said.

Kong attributed her love for swimming to her coaches. Growing up, she developed  determination from the coach of her local swim team, Aulea Swim Club. At CSUEB, coach Shane Pelton keeps Kong’s motivation strong, and her passion for swimming alive. “Other coaches are just looking at you for your times, and not who you are as a person. [Coach Pelton] really believed in the vision and everything that I wanted to do… so I really appreciated that when I first came here,” Kong said.

With that mindset, Kong pushed herself to excel above and beyond in swimming. Kong holds 3 CSUEB swim records under her name: the solo 100-yard butterfly, solo 200-yard butterfly, and 400-yard freestyle team relay.

Along with her records, she currently ranks first for CSUEB’s Women’s Swim Team, first overall in the Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference, and fourth overall for NCAA Division II Women’s Swimming & Diving, according to SwimCloud (as of September 2025).

Kong is also a two-time recipient of the Academic All-America Team designation for NCAA Division II Women’s Swimming & Diving, signifying her as one of the country’s most outstanding college athletes.

Kong’s aspirations and hard work not only show on the pool deck, but also in her academics, currently majoring in health sciences while on a swimming scholarship.

Kong remains committed to her team, Coach Pelton, her academic studies, and CSUEB – the college campus she’s proud to call home. “[CSUEB] felt like a sense of home, just because of how welcoming everyone was… the program, the school, and everyone just supported what I wanted with my academics and athletics,” Kong added.

Kong also remains driven to find new ways to train harder and to elevate her performance, hoping to inspire others along the way. “You need to believe in yourself and follow your goals because your biggest advocate is going to be yourself. No matter what anyone thinks, it’s truly about what you think you can do,” Kong said, “I think if you truly believe that you can do something, you’re going to be able to do it!”