Jack Doms

John Allan Doms (22 January 1927 – 22 January 2018) was a New Zealand swimmer. He won gold and silver medals at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, becoming the first New Zealander to win an individual swimming gold medal at a British Empire or Commonwealth Games.

Jack Doms
Personal information
Birth nameJohn Allan Doms
Born(1927-01-22)22 January 1927
Died22 January 2018(2018-01-22) (aged 91)
Cambridge, New Zealand
Spouse(s)
Maureen Lillian Holman (m. 1952)
Achievements and titles
National finals100 yd breastroke champion (1952, 1953, 1954, 1955)
220 yd breaststroke champion (1952, 1953, 1954, 1955)
Medal record
Men’s swimming
Representing  New Zealand
British Empire & Commonwealth Games
1954 Vancouver220 yards Breaststroke
1954 Vancouver330 yards Medley Relay

Biography

Born on 22 January 1927,[1][2] Doms married Maureen Holman in 1952.[3] Holman is also a swimmer of some note, having won the women's 440 yards at the New Zealand national championships in 1948.[3] The couple went on to have three daughters.[2]

In all, Doms won eight New Zealand national swimming titles, winning both the 100- and 220-yards breaststroke titles every year from 1952 to 1955.[4]

At the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Doms won the gold medal in the men's 220 yards breaststroke — the first New Zealander to win an individual swimming championship at a British Empire and Commonwealth Games.[2] He also won the silver medal in the men's 330 yards medley relay with teammates Lincoln Hurring and Buddy Lucas.[5] Doms retired from competitive swimming after the 1958 national championships.[2]

Aged 55, Doms ran his first marathon after meeting Arthur Lydiard while playing golf.[2][3] As of 2004, he had completed 78 marathons and countless half-marathons.[6]

In 2000, Doms was one of about 300 New Zealanders who carried the Olympic torch during the New Zealand leg of the 2000 Summer Olympics torch relay.[7]

Doms died in Cambridge on 22 January 2018, his 91st birthday.[1]

See also

References
  1. "John Doms death notice". Waikato Times. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  2. Gill, Mary Anne (19 September 1998). "The forgotten hero of NZ swimming". Waikato Times. p. 10.
  3. Eldridge, Shayne (6 June 2012). "Golden moment unexpected". Hamilton Press. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  4. McLintock, A.H., ed. (1966). "Swimming—national championships". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  5. "Jack Doms". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  6. "'Astounding times' as training builds up". Waikato Times. 22 October 2004. p. 13.
  7. "Flame bypasses Waikato, heads for Rotorua". Waikato Times. 6 June 2000. p. 3.


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