Pat Cropper (nee Lowe) is pictured competing for Great Britain, against Hungary, at the Crystal Palace
National Sports Centre. She married athlete Dave Cropper - the 1969 AAA's 800m champion and fellow
Olympic athlete.
In 1974, her sporting efforts were honoured when she was awarded the MBE.
She trained as a teacher at the Chelsea College of Physical Education in Eastbourne and later she became
a recreation centre manager, in Solihull. She was also a county hockey player.
International Championships
| |
|
Women's 880yds. Final
1966 Commonwealth Games
|
| |
|
|
. |
|
| 1. Abigail HOFFMAN |
|
CAN |
|
2.04.3 |
| 2. Judy POLLOCK |
|
AUS |
|
2.04.5 |
| 3. Anne SMITH |
|
ENG |
|
2.05.0 |
| 4. Rosemary STIRLING |
|
SCO |
|
2.05.4 |
| 5. Pat LOWE |
|
ENG |
|
2.05.8 |
| 6. Marise STEPHEN |
|
NZL |
|
2.05.9 |
|
|
|
Women's 800m. Final
1968 Olympic Games
|
| |
|
|
. |
|
| 1. Madeleine MANNING |
|
USA |
|
2: 00.9 |
| 2. Ileana SILAI |
|
ROM |
|
2: 02.5 |
| 3. Maria GOMMERS |
|
HOL |
|
2: 02.6 |
| 4. Sheila TAYLOR |
|
GBR |
|
2: 03.8 |
| 5. Doris BROWN |
|
USA |
|
2: 03.9 |
| 6. Pat LOWE |
|
GBR |
|
2: 04.2 |
| 7. Abigail HOFFMAN |
|
CAN |
|
2: 06.8 |
| 8. Maryvonne DUPUREUR |
|
FRA |
|
2: 08.2 |
|
|
|
Women's 800m. Final.
1969 European Championships
|
| . |
|
|
|
|
| 1. Lillian BOARD |
|
GBR |
|
2.01.4 |
| 2. Anneliese Damm OLESEN |
|
DEN |
|
2.02.6 |
| 3. Vera NIKOLIC |
|
YUG |
|
2.02.6 |
| 4. Barbara WIECK |
|
GDR |
|
2.02.7 |
| 5. Ileana SILAI |
|
ROM |
|
2.03.0 |
| 6. Pat LOWE |
|
GBR |
|
2.03.4 |
|
|
|
Women's 800m. Final
1970 Commonwealth Games
|
| |
|
|
. |
|
| 1. Rosemary STIRLING |
|
SCO |
|
2.06.2 |
| 2. Pat LOWE |
|
ENG |
|
2.06.2 |
| 3. Cheryl PEASLEY |
|
AUS |
|
2.06.3 |
| 4. Gloria DOURASS |
|
WAL |
|
2.08.6 |
| 5. Sylvia POTTS |
|
NZL |
|
2.09.7 |
| 6. Penny WERTHNER |
|
CAN |
|
2.10.0 |
|
|
|
Women's 800m. Final.
1971 European Championships
|
| |
|
|
. |
|
| 1. Vera NIKOLIC |
|
YUG |
|
2.00.0 |
| 2. Pat LOWE |
|
GBR |
|
2.01.7 |
| 3. Rosemary STIRLING |
|
GBR |
|
2.02.1 |
| 4. Danuta WIERZBOWSKA |
|
POL |
|
2.04.2 |
| 5. Gisela ELLENBERGER |
|
FRG |
|
2.05.1 |
Women's 4x400m. Relay Final. European Athletics Championships 1969
1. GBR (R. Stirling,
P. Lowe, J. Simpson, L. Board)
3.30.8
2. France (B. Martin, N. Duclos, E. Jacq, C. Besson) 3.30.8
3. FRG (C. Czekay, A. Gleichfeld, I. Eckhoff, C. Frese) 3.32.7
|
Pat Cropper (Lowe) was one of Europe's top female 800 metre runners
between the mid-1960s and early 1970s, as well as being a fine performer
in the 4x400m relay. Her first appearance in a major international
championship came at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica,
where, representing England, she reached the final of the 800m,
finishing a very creditable 5th in a time of 2: 05.8. She followed this
up two years later by reaching the 800m final at the 1968 Olympics in
Mexico City, placing a commendable 6th (2: 04.25). Victory in the 800m
(2.03.3) at the Women's AAA championships in July 1969 helped secure
Pat's place at that year's European Championships in Athens, where she
finished 6th (2.03.4) in the 800m final won by her compatriot, Lillian
Board (2.01.4). However, Lowe gained ample consolation by being part of
the Great Britain squad (along with Board, Rosemary Stirling and Janet
Simpson) that won gold in the 4x400m relay. Running the second leg in
the final, Pat clocked 52.1 (the joint fastest time of the British
quartette), helping not only to win the title but also to set a new
world record (3.30.8).
She claimed her first individual medal at international level at the
1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, taking 800m silver for England
after being edged out in the final by Rosemary Stirling (Scotland), both
women recording the same time of 2.06.2. At the 1971 European
Championships in Helsinki, Lowe won another silver medal, placing an
excellent second in the 800m final (2.01.7) and being beaten only by
Vera Nikolic of Yugoslavia, the then world record holder in the event.
Running under her married name of Cropper in the 1972 season (husband
Dave had been the AAA 800m champion in 1969), Pat finished runner-up
(2.03.68) to Ireland's Mary Tracey in the 800m final at the Women's AAA
Championships, a result that helped gain her selection for the Great
Britain team at that year's Munich Olympics. Here she was eliminated
after placing 4th in her heat (2.03.55), bringing an end to an
impressive run of five successive appearances in international 800m
finals. Her last appearance at a major international championship came
at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand, where she
was eliminated in the heats after finishing 6th (2.08.74). (Martin
Greensill)
|
UK Internationals: 28 (1966-73)
National Championships
Won WAAA 800m 1969.
Personal bests
300m 39.1 (1969), 400m 54.6 (1969), 800m 2:01.66 (1971)
Indoors: 600m 1:33.6 (1971)