Jane Lowe

Jane Lowe was only 14 when she swam for New Zealand at the Christchurch Commonwealth Games, but produced two outstanding performances.

Lowe, whose parents had emigrated from England to New Zealand under the assisted immigration scheme, learned to swim at the Gonville baths in Tawa St, Whanganui.

She showed unusual potential even early on and in 1973 attended the world swimming championships in Belgrade – a daunting prospect for someone so young. Though she didn’t make the breaststroke finals in Belgrade, she handled herself well – 17th of 24 in the 100m in 1min 20.77s and 17th of 25 in the 200m in 2min 52.60s.

Her career pinnacle was the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch.

In the 100m, Lowe swam 1min 18.42s in her 100m heat. She qualified for the final as the 7th fastest swimmer. In the final, Lowe’s 1min 17.72s was a New Zealand record and placed her a creditable 6th overall.

She did even better in the 200m, held on the first day of the swimming events. The New Zealander won her heat in the sensational time of 2min 43.34s, another New Zealand record, and went into the final as the 2nd fastest qualifier. She was in the hunt for medals right through the final, but was out-touched for the bronze by Australian Alison Smith. Lowe’s 2min 45.10s was 0.02s away from a medal. If she’d managed to repeat her heat time, she’d have taken the silver medal, so she was clearly swimming in world class.

In the 4 x 100m medley relay, the New Zealand team – Monique Rodahl, Lowe, Debbie Ledgerwood and Jaynie Parkhouse – were 5th, with Lowe turning in the most competitive time among the New Zealanders.

Years later, reflecting on her Commonwealth Games experience, she felt that like many teenagers she might have lacked a bit of self-belief.

“My coaches forgot to tell me I was up to it and I succumbed to the pressure,” she recalled. “It was a bit of a watershed year too, I guess. My mother died the same year.”

Lowe continued swimming at top level for another couple of years and ended up with eight New Zealand titles – the 100m from 1972-74 and the 200m from 1972-76.

She remained involved in swimming. She served on the board of Swimming New Zealand in the early 2000s and managed the New Zealand team at the junior Pan Pacific Games in Hawaii in 2005 and teams to other international events.

Lowe ran her own swim coaching school in Whanganui, and set up an organisation called One Aquatic with Wayne Dewe to offer coaching and mentoring services. Her coaching took on a more formal role in 2006, as coach at the Whanganui Swimming Club. She held the position until 2014.

When she finished as a swim coach, she became an educator for Whanganui-based company Paua Early Childhood Home Based Care Service.