Jon Lane

Jon Lane was an ice dance specialist and enjoyed many successes with Janet Sawbridge, but had it not been for the presence of multiple champions Diane Towler and Bernard Ford at the same time, their collection of silverware would have been more impressive.

Lane and Sawbridge were runners-up in the National championships in 1969, having been third three years in succession 1966-68, won each time by Towler and Ford. Lane and Sawbridge won bronze medals at both the 1968 European and World Championships and competed in the ice dance demonstration event at the Grenoble Olympics that year. They added a silver medal at the 1969 Europeans at Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Lane turned professional and became a skating teacher at Queen´s Ice Skating Club in London and in 1976 won the unofficial World professional pairs title in Spain with Vivienne Dean. In November 1980 Lane married one of his pupils, Jayne Newby. Sadly, she was diagnosed with leukaemia five months into pregnancy and, three months after giving birth to their son, Jayne died in February 1982 aged just 20.