Margaret Isobel Lister (née Sweeney, born 1929 or 1930) is a former New Zealand swimmer who represented her country at the 1950 Empire Games in Auckland. She later took up long-distance swimming, and in 1955 became the first person to swim the length of Lake Taupō.

Biography

Representing Auckland, Sweeney won two titles at the New Zealand national swimming championships: the 220 yards breaststroke in 1949; and the 100 yards breaststroke the following year.^[2] She went on to represent New Zealand at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, finishing sixth in the 220 yards breaststroke with a time of 3:28.0.^[3] She was also a member of the New Zealand team in the 330 yards medley relay, with Jean Stewart and Winifred Griffin, that was disqualified in the final.^[4]

Sweeney then turned to long-distance swimming, and worked as a professional swimming coach at the Tepid Baths in Auckland.^[5] On 30 January 1955, she became the first person to swim the length of Lake Taupo, making the 40-kilometre (25 mi) crossing from south to north in 13 hours 39 minutes.^[5][6] The feat would not be repeated until 1977 when local man Patrick Cox completed the marathon swim.^[7]

Sweeney made four attempts to swim the English Channel, in 1954, 1955 and 1968, but was unsuccessful on each occasion.^[8] In 1955, she was within 800 yards (730 m) of reaching the English coast when the tide changed and pushed her back; she finally abandoned the attempt after 12 hours in the water.^[8]

In 1956, Sweeney married Keith Richard Lister in Essex, England.^[9] The couple went on to have three sons, and ran a supermarket at Forrest Hill on Auckland's North Shore.^[8]