Jane Kerr was swimming by the age of 8 and winning senior international medals at 15. She took home three silver medals at the 1983 Pan American Games (in the 100 metre freestyle and the 4x100 metre freestyle and medley relays) and attended the 1984 Summer Olympics, where she was fifth in the 4x100 m freestyle relay (alongside Carol Klimpel, Cheryl McArton, Maureen New, and Pam Rai) and fourteenth in both the 100 and 200 metre freestyle events. She then appeared at the 1985 Pan Pacific Championships, winning gold in the 4x100 m medley relay with Reema Abdo, Jill Horstead, and the non-Olympian Cindy Ounpuu. Her next, and arguably biggest, international success came at the 1986 Commonwealth Games, where she captured six medals: gold in the 100 m freestyle and the 4x100 m freestyle relay (alongside Rai, Patricia Noall, and Andrea Nugent), silver in the 200 m freestyle and 4x100 m medley relay (with Allison Higson, Donna McGinnis, and the non-Olympian Barbara McBain), and bronze in the 200 metre individual medley and the 4x200 m freestyle relay (alongside McGinnis, Noall, and the non-Olympian Sophie Dufour).
Kerr’s next stop was the 1987 Pan Pacific Championships, where the earned silver in the 4x100 m medley relay (with Higson, Mojca Cater, and Lori Melien) and bronze in the 100 m freestyle and 200 m individual medley. Kerr then returned to the Olympics in 1988 and won a bronze medal in the 4x100 m medley relay, with the assistance of Higson, Melien, Noall, Nugent, and Keltie Duggan. She also placed 6th in the 4x100 metres freestyle relay (alongside Higson, Noall, Nugent, Kathy Bald, and Kristin Topham), 20th in both the 100 metre freestyle and butterfly, and 28th in the 200 m freestyle. Having studied for a year at the University of Toronto, Kerr accepted a scholarship at the University of Florida and swam with them until 1992, when she graduated with a degree in finance. She has been inducted into the Mississauga Sports (1988) and Ontario Aquatic (1996) Halls of Fame.