The Duluth Rowing Club celebrates World Champion Walter Hoover in 62nd annual regatta race

DULUTH, MN. (KBJR) - On Saturday at the Duluth Rowing Club, over 300 rowers, of all ages, and from all over gathered to compete in DRC’s 62nd Duluth International Regatta, but in Saturday’s event, something extra special washed up on the shore of Park Point.

The club also celebrated the 100th anniversary of Duluthian and world champ, Walter Hoover. Back in 1922, Hoover, a world-class athlete of his time, captured the Single Scull world title in the Diamond Sculls event in England, bringing his massive accomplishment back to the Twin Ports and leaving his legacy a century later.

In the middle of the competition, the club paused to christen a brand new quad in Hoover’s honor. Bruce Derauf of Duluth Rowing Club said if Hoover were still here today he would be very pleased.

“Just to keep the next generation of rowers knowing about what a great force he was in the rowing community and he was a part of many Duluth teams that won many National Championships in the teens and twenties. I think he’d be very proud, I think he’d be pleased with all the youth that’s here, we have 300 rowers here today celebrating, so it’s a very special day for us,” said Derauf.

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