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 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 ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with t ...

player who was a member of the

New Zealand men's national water polo team The New Zealand men's national water polo team is the representative for New Zealand in international men's water polo. The team placed 5th at the 2014 Commonwealth Water Polo Championships in Aberdeen, Scotland. Results World Championship *19 ...

at the

2013 World Aquatics Championships The 15th FINA World Championships ( ca, Campionat Mundial de Natació de 2013, es, Campeonato Mundial de Natación de 2013) were held from 20 July to 4 August in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, 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 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 New Zealand (onl ...

where he was

head boy Head boy and head girl are student leadership roles in schools, representing the school's entire student body. They are normally the most senior prefects in the school. The terms are commonly used in the British education system as well as in Aus ...

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

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), an ...

, Spain, before returning to the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn ...

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 the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world ...

, 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 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 world's second-oldest university in contin ...

. 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 coast of northeastern 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 ...

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

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

, 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 {{NewZealand-waterpolo-bio-stub