Margaret Isobel Lister (née Sweeney, born ) is a former New Zealand

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

who represented her country at the

1950 Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...

in Auckland. She later took up long-distance swimming, and in 1955 became the first person to swim the length of

Lake Taupō Lake Taupō (also spelled Taupo; mi, Taupō-nui-a-Tia or ) is a large crater lake in New Zealand's North Island, located in the caldera of the Taupō Volcano. The lake is the namesake of the town of Taupō, which sits on a bay in the lake's nor ...

Biography

Representing

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, Sweeney won two titles at the New Zealand national swimming championships: the 220 yards

breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...

in 1949; and the 100 yards breaststroke the following year. She went on to represent New Zealand at the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...

in Auckland, finishing sixth in the 220 yards breaststroke with a time of 3:28.0. She was also a member of the New Zealand team in the 330 yards medley relay, with Jean Stewart and

Winifred Griffin Winifred Clare "Winkie" Ashby (née Griffin, 17 November 1932 – 11 December 2018) was a New Zealand freestyle swimmer. At the 1950 British Empire Games she won the silver medal as part of the 4 x 110 yards freestyle relay. She was also a memb ...

, that was disqualified in the final. Sweeney then turned to long-distance swimming, and worked as a professional swimming coach at the

Tepid Baths The Tepid Baths is a public indoor pool complex in Auckland, New Zealand. The baths opened in 1914 on a site that had previously been occupied by a small drydock and were very well-received by the public, with the new baths attracting 30,000 visi ...

in Auckland. On 30 January 1955, she became the first person to swim the length of Lake Taupo, making the crossing from south to north in 13 hours 39 minutes. The feat would not be repeated until 1977 when local man Patrick Cox completed the marathon swim. Sweeney made four attempts to swim the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, in 1954, 1955 and 1968, but was unsuccessful on each occasion. In 1955, she was within of reaching the English coast when the tide changed and pushed her back; she finally abandoned the attempt after 12 hours in the water. In 1956, Sweeney married Keith Richard Lister in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, England. The couple went on to have three sons, and ran a supermarket at Forrest Hill on Auckland's North Shore.

References

External links

Photograph of Margaret Sweeney completing swim of Lake Taupo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Margaret Swimmers from Auckland New Zealand female swimmers Swimmers at the 1950 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games competitors for New Zealand New Zealand long-distance swimmers Female long-distance swimmers 1920s births Living people Year of birth missing (living people)