Finn Henry Mrkusic Lowery (1 October 1990 – 24 March 2019) was a New Zealand lawyer, Rhodes Scholar, and

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

player who was a member of the New Zealand men's national water polo team at the

2013 World Aquatics Championships The 15th FINA World Championships (, ) were held from 20 July to 4 August in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, on 1 October 1990, Lowery was the son of Martin and Anna Lowery. He was educated at

Rangitoto College Rangitoto College is a state coeducational secondary school, located on the North Shore City, North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. Serving years 9 to 13, Rangitoto has a school roll of as of making it the largest "brick-and-mortar" school in ...

where he was

head boy The two Senior Prefects, individually called Head Boy (for the male), and Head Girl (for the female) are students who carry leadership roles and are responsible for representing the school's entire student body. Although mostly out of use, in some ...

in 2008. After leaving high school, he played water polo for a club in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, Spain, before returning to the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

to study law, French, and political philosophy. Upon completion of his law degree, Lowery was awarded the Auckland District Law Society Prize for graduating top of his class. In 2014, Lowery was awarded a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

, which allowed him to complete a master's degree in Latin American studies, economics, sociology, and politics at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. Lowery made his debut for the New Zealand national men's water polo team in 2010, and made 19 international appearances for New Zealand. In 2013, he played for New Zealand in the FINA World League Asia-Oceania section in May, and then at the World Championships in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

later that year. The following year, he again represented New Zealand at the Commonwealth Water Polo Championships in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, where the New Zealand team finished in fifth place. Lowery died in Auckland on 24 March 2019 after a long battle with depression.

References

1990 births 2019 deaths Sportspeople from Auckland People educated at Rangitoto College University of Auckland alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford New Zealand male water polo players Suicides in New Zealand 2019 suicides 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen {{NewZealand-waterpolo-bio-stub