Douglas Lowe

Biography Born in Manchester, Douglas Lowe first attended Harrow but moved at the age of 14 to Highgate School, where unusually he was made Head Boy for two years before leaving in July 1921. An all-round school sportsman, he excelled as a middle distance runner, winning the Public Schools' 880 yd (805 m) title in 1920. Later, at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he studied medieval and modern languages, he played football and won the 880 yd (805 m) against Oxford in 1922 and 1923, and both the mile (1609 m) and the quarter-mile (402 m) race against them in 1924.

In the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, Lowe won the 800 metres gold medal in a new European record time of 1:52.4. He beat the fellow Cambridge runner H. B. Stallard, who had been considered the pre-race favourite. Stallard suffered a leg injury and could only finish fourth. Lowe also came fourth in the 1,500 metres in a time of 3:57.0.

At the Amsterdam Olympics Lowe won the 800 metres in a personal best performance of 1:51.8, a full second and eight yards ahead of a world class field. He also anchored the British 4×400 metres relay team that finished 5th. He also took up law at the Inner Temple in London, where he was elected a Bencher in 1955.