By Mari Radtke
Karson Dau of rural Sutherland and a genuine football fan is the 2021 National Peddle Pull Champion. Karson has been pulling since he was eligible at age 6. There was no competition in 2020, but he earned second place in 2019 at the annual Mitchell, SD event. Getting to the event is a journey all by itself.
Karson’s journey began this year while he was 9 years old. He won at the O’Brien County Fair in July. That qualified him for the state competition. This year’s Iowa State competition was held at Swea City on September 11. The competition was moved from Marshalltown this year. Karson competed at the Clay County Fair and qualified for 2022 state competition in the 11-year old bracket.
Karson’s birthday is September 7, so he had to compete in the 10-year-old bracket. The rules require that you compete in the bracket of your age on the day of competition. For the fifth time Karson came face to face with Andrew Hall of Drakesville, Iowa. Andrew came out on top for the fifth time, but both advanced to the National competition at the Corn Palace on September 25.
Karson’s longest pull at Mitchell was 17’5″. A full pull is 20′. This pull was good enough for Karson to finally out pull his Iowa competitor. This time for a National Championship! Karson describes his feelings about the event as “happy,” saying, “I’m kind of happy that I finally beat Andrew. It’s cool to be the winner and represent Iowa.” Karson says he and Andrew get along fine. They say, “Hi,” to each other at competition.
Responding to how he got so good at pedal pull Karson shrugged and said, “I ride my bike all the time when we lived in town.” He walks a lot and generally builds up his leg muscles. Mom, Jamae explained how she was stunned that some of the competitors practice with tractors at home.
Karson got in by accident. He was at a community event in Lake Park and competed. It was his first win. The family took the trip to state to see what it was all about. Now, all 4 of the Dau kids do or have participated in Pedal Pull. His older sister, Kate has aged out of competition. Younger siblings Dalton and Hayley are following in the pedal steps.
Seventeen states have sanctioned Pedal Pull events and send up to three competitors each. The top 5 finishers in the 2021 national championship came from 1st and 2nd – Iowa, 3rd – Indiana, 4th – Colorado and 5th resided in Nebraska.