Walter Lüchinger

Walter Lüchinger was born in Massachusetts to Swiss parents from Zürich; his father was an engineer. He became involved in rowing with Seeclub Zürich and won three silver medals at the European Rowing Championships in 1949 (coxed four), 1950 (coxed pair) and 1951 (coxed pair). In 1952, Lüchinger was selected alongside his longtime club partner Alex Siebenhaar and cox Walter Ludin to compete in the pairs event at the Olympic Games in Helsinki. There, they were eliminated in the round one repêchage, narrowly losing out by just over a second to Finland.

In 1955, Lüchinger married Dell-Fin Kalaupaona Poaha of Honolulu, Miss Hawai’i in 1951 after meeting by chance while in Japan. They had three children. After serving in the Swiss Army including service with the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission in the 1950s, Lüchinger later lived in both the United States and Switzerland. He died at the age of 95 in August 2021.