Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Aug 5, 2026

Jo Edwards

Joanna Edwards is a New Zealand international lawn bowls competitor. She has won two world titles and three Commonwealth Games gold medals.

Last revised
Aug 5, 2026
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Jo Edwards
Edwards in 2014
Personal information
NationalityNew Zealander
Born (1970-02-05) 5 February 1970
Clatterbridge, England
Medal record
Lawn bowls
Representing  New Zealand
World Outdoor Championships
Gold medal – first place 2004 Leamington Spa Pairs
Gold medal – first place 2008 Christchurch Pairs
Silver medal – second place 2008 Christchurch Team
Silver medal – second place 2012 Adelaide Pairs
Silver medal – second place 2012 Adelaide Team
Silver medal – second place 2016 Christchurch Pairs
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Christchurch Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Christchurch Team
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2002 Manchester Pairs
Gold medal – first place 2014 Glasgow Singles
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast Singles
Asia Pacific Bowls Championships
Gold medal – first place 2001 Melbourne pairs
Silver medal – second place 2001 Melbourne fours
Gold medal – first place 2003 Brisbane fours
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Melbourne singles
Gold medal – first place 2011 Adelaide pairs
Gold medal – first place 2011 Adelaide fours
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Christchurch singles
Gold medal – first place 2019 Gold Coast singles
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Gold Coast pairs

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.

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 Championships6 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

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. Archived from the original on 10 November 2024. 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. Archived from the original on 1 April 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  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. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  7. Landells, Steve (17 November 2015). "Lawn bowls: Jo Edwards stars in Blackjacks triumph". New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  8. "World Cup indoor singles – Day 9". Bowls International. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  9. "Queen's Birthday honours list 2014". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 2 June 2014. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
External links