Colin Lowth (born October 5, 1977, in

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

) is a former Irish

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

who represented

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

at the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

. His name is often spelt "Louth" also.

Swimming career

Lowth swam for Cormorant Swimming Club who are based in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. His head coach was Therese Beegan. He is known best as a great

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

swimmer but was also a very capable

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' FreeStyle'', ...

swimmer. His best event was the 200m Butterfly in which he broke many Irish Records and qualified for the

in.

Records

During his swimming career he broke many

Irish records Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state *** Erse (disambiguati ...

in butterfly, and was known as the best 200m butterfly swimmer of his generation. His short course 200m butterfly record of 2.00.33 stood for a very long time until Donal O'Neill broke it in 2003 with a time of 1.59.70. His

long course An Olympic-size swimming pool is a swimming pool which conforms to the regulations for length, breadth, and depth made by World Aquatics (formerly FINA) for swimming at the Summer Olympics and the swimming events at the World Aquatics Champion ...

200m Butterfly time at Junior Level has never been beaten. * Irish Junior 200m Butterfly Record (Long Course) - 2.04.01 * Irish Senior 200m Butterfly Record (Long Course) - 2.01.96

Sydney 2000 Olympics

Lowth studied business in Trinity College from 1996-2000. While in his final year in college, he quailifed for the

Sydney 2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

on the 200m Butterfly. His time of 2.03.91 was disappointing as it left him 8th and last in his heat and failed to qualify him for the semi-finals. Former Irish international swimmer Nick O' Hare was critical of Lowth's swim.BBC SPORT , NORTHERN IRELAND , Irish struggle in Sydney
/ref> Lowth retired from swimming after the Olympics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowth, Colin Living people 1977 births Irish male freestyle swimmers Irish male butterfly swimmers Olympic swimmers for Ireland Sportspeople from County Dublin Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Sportspeople from Drogheda Alumni of Trinity College Dublin