Douglas Lowe

Who was Douglas Lowe?

Douglas Gordon Arthur Lowe was a British double Olympic Games champion, winning gold medals in 1924 and 1928. On both occasions he set British 800-metres records of 1:52.4 and 1:51.8 respectively.

Born in Manchester, Douglas Lowe attended Harrow and Highgate School and excelled immediately as a middle distance runner, winning the Public Schools' 880 yd title in 1920. Later, at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he studied law, he played football and won the 880 yd against Oxford in 1922 and 1923, and both the mile and the quarter-mile 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 Henry 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.

Lowe was defeated in a famous 880 yards race with Germany's Dr. Otto Peltzer at the 1926 AAA Championships. Peltzer won by three yards in a time of 1:51.6 with Lowe also inside the world record of 1:52.2.