Jo Edwards

Joanna Edwards MNZM (born 5 February 1970) is a New Zealand international lawn bowls competitor. She has won two world titles and three Commonwealth Games gold medals.

Jo Edwards

MNZM

Edwards in 2014
Personal information
Nationality	New Zealander
Born	(1970-02-05) 5 February 1970 (age 54) Clatterbridge, England
Medal record Lawn bowls Representing  New Zealand World Outdoor Championships 2004 Leamington Spa Pairs 2008 Christchurch Pairs 2012 Adelaide Pairs 2016 Christchurch Pairs 2016 Christchurch Singles Commonwealth Games 2002 Manchester Pairs 2014 Glasgow Singles 2018 Gold Coast Singles Asia Pacific Bowls Championships 2001 Melbourne pairs 2001 Melbourne fours 2003 Brisbane fours 2005 Melbourne singles 2011 Adelaide pairs 2011 Adelaide fours 2015 Christchurch singles 2019 Gold Coast singles 2019 Gold Coast pairs

Bowls career

Outdoors

At the 2002 Commonwealth Games she won a gold medal along with Sharon Sims in the women's pairs event.^[1] She has twice won the gold medal at the World Outdoor Bowls Championships in the pairs events: in 2004 with Sharon Sims;^[2] and in 2008 with Val Smith.

In 2014 she won a second Commonwealth Games gold medal after winning the women's singles in Glasgow.

In 2016, she won a bronze medal at the 2016 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Christchurch in the singles and a silver medal with Angela Boyd in the pairs.^[3]

She was selected as part of the New Zealand team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Queensland,^[4] where she claimed a gold medal in the Singles.

In 2020 she was selected for the 2020 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Australia.^[5]

In addition to World Bowls and Commonwealth Games success she has won five gold medals and (nine medals in total) at the Asia Pacific Bowls Championships^[6] and excelled at the 2015 APL (Australian Premier League), she was the only woman competing in the eight-team tournament featuring 24 of the world's top players and played alongside her countrymen Ali Forsyth and Shannon McIlroy to win the title at Club Pine Rivers.^[7]

Indoors

Edwards has won six World Cup Singles titles (a women's record) with the latest success being in 2019. Previous wins were in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2017.^[8]

Honours

In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours, Edwards was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to lawn bowls.^[9]

References

1. Profile at the New Zealand Olympic Committee website
2. "Bowls: Women's four win but Castle suffers two losses in singles". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
3. "2016 World Bowls Championship Finals". Burnside Bowling Club.
4. "Bowls: New Zealand team named for Commonwealth Games". New Zealand Herald.
5. "Blackjacks Selected for World Championships 2020". Bowls New Zealand. 10 February 2020. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
6. "Results Portal". Bowls Australia.
7. Landells, Steve (17 November 2015). "Lawn bowls: Jo Edwards stars in Blackjacks triumph". New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
8. "World Cup indoor singles – Day 9". Bowls International.
9. "Queen's Birthday honours list 2014". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2018.

External links

• Jo Edwards at the New Zealand Olympic Committee
• Jo Edwards at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (archived)
• Jo Edwards at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games (archived)
• Joanna Edwards at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games (archived)
• Joanna Edwards at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)