Ms Jane Jolly

Jane Jolly (née Cross) has been passionate about sports since childhood, with swimming being her most successful pursuit. Coached by her brother Tom and alongside her sister Dorothy, Jane swam with Sunday’s Well Swimming Club to the international level.

Today, Jane is the reigning World and European Champion in the 3K open-water swim in the 70-74 age group, having won the World Title in Doha, Qatar, in February and the European title in the River Sava in Belgrade, Serbia, in July.

Her journey to such international acclaim began when Jane aspired to become a physical education teacher and secured a place at the National College of Physical Education, the first specialist college of its kind in Ireland. Due to delays in construction, her cohort began their studies in Tralee in 1973, forming a bond that still endures. They later moved to Limerick, where Jane won the first Intervarsity Swimming Championship title for the NCPE.

Unfortunately, Jane ruptured her Achilles tendon during her third year, which severely impacted her teaching prospects. She turned down a full-time position with Cork VEC and instead took a part-time role at Grafton Health Studio, Cork’s first private gym. There, she introduced free exercise, the beginning of aerobics, and quickly rose to manager before the birth of her twin sons, Derek, and Andrew, in 1980.

Over the following decades, Jane established her own aerobic classes, introduced Aqua aerobics in Cork, and ventured into sports retail, opening her own shop. Her work with Speedo International included testing and developing modern race suits. She also served on the committee of the Irish Exercise Teachers Association, promoting higher teaching standards across the industry.

Despite her injury, Jane found success in Masters swimming. She was part of the Cork Masters Swimming Club’s world record-breaking team at the inaugural Masters Games in Toronto in 1985, and they further reduced this record in Rome the following year. In 1990, she won three silver medals at the World Masters in Rio de Janeiro, followed by a silver at the European Masters in Coventry in 1991, and a gold and bronze at the World Masters Games in Brisbane in 1994.

Jane ventured into open water swimming at the European Masters in Mallorca in 2001, finishing fourth in the 5-kilometer swim across the Bay of Palma. She went on to win her age group in the Alcatraz Swim in 2006, the Hellespont swim from Europe to Asia in Türkiye in 2011, and the iconic Bosphorus Swim in Istanbul in 2015.

In 2019, Jane claimed silver in the 65-69 age group 3K open water at the World Masters in South Korea. 2022 was a busy year, with Jane winning bronze in the 3K at the European Masters in Rome, her age group in the Lee Swim in Cork, and the accolade of Swimmer Closest to the World Record in their age group.

Jane’s life has always been connected to water. She feels blessed to have the health to continue swimming, which remains the pulse of her life. She is an inspiration to people of all ages.