02/02/2021
Nicol David Named Greatest Athlete of All Time
Nicol David Named Greatest Athlete of All Time in The
World Games Poll
Malaysia’s
eight-time World Champion Nicol David has been named as The World Games
greatest athlete of all time after topping a poll conducted by the
International World Games Association (IWGA).
Held between January 8 - February 1 via The World Games website, the
poll featured 24 of the finest athletes ever to appear at The World
Games, a multi-sport event held every four years. David finished top
with 318,943 votes from fans, over double that of her nearest
competitor, Irish tug of war legend James Kehoe. With 1,204,637 votes
cast in total, 26 per cent of the votes went to the Malaysian superstar.
David, the 37-year-old from Penang, is one of the greatest squash
players of all time and won a trio of World Games gold medals in
addition to a bronze.
David also enjoyed an unprecedented nine-year reign at the top of the
World Rankings between 2006-2015 and lifted two Commonwealth Games gold
medals, five Asian Games gold medals and five British Open trophies
during her distinguished career, which came to an end in 2019.
“It’s a huge honour to be nominated by The World Games for the Greatest
Athlete of All Time and to gain so much support from everyone in
Malaysia and the squash community,” said David.
“It came as a surprise to see me amongst these other top athletes and
I’m grateful for this... hopefully it can elevate the attention for the
future of squash and it’s a proud moment to represent my country and
Asia.”
WSF President Zena Wooldridge said: ”Nicol has beaten a number of
distinguished athletes to first place and her victory is recognition of
a wonderful career that saw her break numerous records and win
everything there was to win in the sport.
"Not only is Nicol one of the greatest athletes of all time, she is also
a tremendous role model for thousands of people across the globe and a
true ambassador for our sport. I'm also delighted to see the support
Nicol enjoyed from our passionate and loyal squash community and we are
all proud to see Nicol named as The World Games Greatest Athlete of All
Time.”
IWGA President José Perurena said: “I would like to warmly congratulate
Nicol David for the victory in The World Games Greatest Athlete of All
Time poll. Nicol David is an inspirational athlete, and a fine role
model for younger athletes.
"The race was incredible, and it was good to see how athletes, including
David, got support not only from their own sport, but also from their
country and the highest sports authorities there. Sports really unite
people in a special way. This vote was a celebration of that."
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