Lowe, Doug

Doug Lowe, byname of Douglas Gordon Arthur Lowe, (born Aug. 7, 1902, Manchester, Eng.—died March 30, 1981), English middle-distance runner who won gold medals in the 800-metre races at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris and at the 1928 Games in Amsterdam.

Lowe was a champion runner at Highgate School and also at the University of Cambridge, where he studied law. He came in fourth in the 1,500-metre race at the 1924 Olympics. After his final Olympics performance, he went to Berlin to race Otto Peltzer, who had beaten him at London in 1926 while setting a world record of 51.6 sec; in Berlin he defeated Peltzer. With Arthur Porritt (later Lord Porritt), he wrote Athletics (1929), which had training hints and described attitudes toward running in their day. Lowe was a tactical runner, more interested in winning than in fast time, and he used a finishing kick to advantage. Lowe was called to the bar in 1928, made queen’s counsel in 1964, and named recorder of the Crown Court (1972–77).