University of Minnesota Athletics
Virgil Luken - M Club Hall of Fame
Virgil Luken
Men’s Swimming & Diving, 1962-64
HOF Class of 2004
Virgil Luken became a national champion the first year he competed on the University of Minnesota swim team, winning the 1962 NCAA 200-yard breaststroke.
He won Big Ten titles in each of next two years, as a member of the 400-yard medley team in 1963, and individually in the 200-yard breaststroke in 1964. Team captain in his senior year, the three-time All-American finished his Minnesota career holding school records in the 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard breaststroke, and 400-yard medley relay.
In 1964, Luken was named to the U.S. Olympic team and, along with fellow Gopher Hall of Fame member Walt Richardson, established a new Olympic record in the 400 medley relay in the Tokyo Games.
Luken later competed in the 50-to-54 age group of the U.S. Masters and recorded a first-place finish in the 50-yard breaststroke in 1993.
He was inducted into the U of M Aquatics Hall of Fame in 1986.