Colin Lowth is a former Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 swimmer who represented Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 at the 2000 Olympic Games. His name is often spelt "Louth" also.

Swimming career

Lowth swam for Cormorant Swimming Club who are based in Dublin. His head coach was Therese Beegan. He is known best as a great butterfly

Butterfly

A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

 swimmer but was also a very capable freestyle

Freestyle swimming

Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...

 swimmer. His best event was the 200m Butterfly in which he broke many Irish Records and qualified for the 2000 Olympic Games in.

Records

During his swimming career he broke many Irish records in butterfly, and was known as the best 200m butterfly swimmer of his generation. His short course

Short course

In Swimming, the term Short Course is used to identify a pool that is 25 metres in length. The term is also often included in meet names when conducted in a short course pool...

 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 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 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. Lowth retired from swimming after the Olympics.