Marrion Roe

Born in Invercargill on 3 April 1935,[1] Roe later moved to Hamilton,[2] and represented Waikato at the New Zealand national swimming championships.[3] In all, she won eight national swimming titles: the 100 yards freestyle every year from 1952 to 1956; the 220 yards freestyle in 1954 and 1956; and the 440 yards freestyle in 1956.[3]

In 1954, Roe swam at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff. In the 110 yards freestyle, she finished fourth in the final, with a time of 1:08.9.[4] She recorded a time of 5:34.7 in her heat of the 440 yards freestyle and did not progress to the final.[5]

In February 1955, Roe swam what was at that time the fastest 100 yards freestyle in the Southern Hemisphere, recording a time of 59.0 seconds, which was 0.9 seconds outside Jody Braskamp's world record.[6]

She competed in 100 metres and 400 metres freestyle at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.[1] In the 100 metres she finished in seventh place in the final with a time of 1:05.6, while in the 400 metres she swam 5:18.5 to finish fourth in her heat and did not progress to the final.[1]

In early 1957, Roe married John Aitchison Beck, who was secretary of the Waikato Swimming Centre. On their honeymoon, she gave a demonstration at a swimming carnival in Gisborne.[2]

Marrion Beck was widowed by the death of her husband in 2010.[7][8] She died at Puriri Court Rest Home in Whangārei on 29 June 2017.[8]