Virgil Luken, who won Big Ten titles and an NCAA title as a member of the Gophers swimming team and was a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 1964, died on Saturday at age 80.
Former Gophers and Olympic swimmer Virgil Luken dead at 80
He helped set an Olympic record in 1964 in Tokyo, but he didn't receive a gold medal because he only swam in the preliminaries.
June 12, 2023 at 10:39PM
At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, he teamed with Gophers teammate Wally Richardson and Rich McGeagh and Bob Bennett to set an Olympic record in the 400-meter medley relay preliminaries. The United States went on to win gold, but because Luken didn't swim in the finals, under the rules at the time, he did not receive a medal.
Two years earlier as a Gophers sophomore in 1962, he won the NCAA 200-yard breaststroke title. He also was a member of the Gophers' 400-yard medley team that won the Big Ten title in 1963 and he won the breaststroke title again in 1964 before going to Japan later that year.
During his high school career at Minneapolis Roosevelt, Luken won the state 100 breaststroke title.
Luken, who was living in Minnetonka, earned 12 National Masters titles. He was inducted into the U of M Aquatics Hall of Fame in 1986 and the M Club Hall of Fame in 2004.
Brad Nessler last called a Gophers game in 2015. He grew up St. Charles, Minn., and got his broadcasting start in Mankato, so this has been a chance to reacquaint with old friends.
