Diane Rowe

Diane Schöler (née Rowe; 14 April 1933 – 19 June 2023) was an English table tennis player. In 1966 she married German table tennis player Eberhard Schöler, and from that time on competed for West Germany. From 1951 to 1972 she won several medals in single, double, and team events in the Table Tennis European Championships, and in the World Table Tennis Championships.

Rowe started training in table tennis aged 14, under Viktor Barna. She was left-handed and until 1951 played a defensive style, but later put more accent on attacking. In early 1966, she married Eberhard Schöler and moved to Düsseldorf, where she gave birth to a daughter. She retired from competitions in 1973 and until 1997 worked as a table tennis coach. In 1993 she received the ITTF Merit Award, and in 2001 the Dieter Mauritz Gedächtnispreis.

Rowe also won 17 English Open titles.

Diane Rowe had a twin sister, Rosalind Rowe, who was also an international table tennis player. They often played doubles together. In 1955 they published a book The twins on table tennis. Their father was the amateur footballer Vivian Rowe, and their uncle was footballer Ronald Rowe.

Rowe died of cancer in Düsseldorf on 19 June 2023, at the age of 90.