George Onekea was a high school student at Iolani High School in Honolulu when he swam at the 1956 Olympics. Onekea later attended the University of Hawai’i. He was AAU champion outdoors in the 1955 1,500 freestyle, placing third that year in the 200 and 400 free. At the 1956 US Olympic Trials, Onekea was second in the 1,500 and third in the 400 freestyle. He failed to get out of the heats at the 1956 Olympics. He later settled in Redding, California and was inducted into the Hawai’i Swim Hall of Fame in 2003.
United States