A Humble Southern Hemisphere Hero #5: Kirsty Coventry

Kirsty Leigh Coventry, a name synonymous with swimming excellence, etched her place in history as Africa's most decorated Olympian and one of the most celebrated female swimmers of all time. Her Olympic legacy boasts seven medals – two gold, four silver, and one bronze – a feat unmatched by any African athlete. She holds the (joint) most individual medals in women's Olympic swimming, and remains the sole Zimbabwean to win individual Olympic gold. She has earned seven of the eight Olympic medals ever awarded to the country of Zimbabwe. 

A Humble Southern Hemisphere Hero #3: Diego Elias

27-year-old Peruvian Diego Elias is the current squash world champion.  In Cairo, Egypt, in May 2024, this young athlete won the CIB PSA World Championship for the 2023-24 season.  Despite coming from a country with a small squash scene, Elias has defied the odds to become one of the best squash players in the world.

Your chance to own a professional sports team

If I told you there was a new professional sports league in the US where the teams were named the Tornadoes, the Colts, the Grizzlies, the Crushers, the Knights, and the Dragons, what sport would you think of?  The US big four sports certainly come to mind.  And the new LIV Golf tour has team names like that.  Pickleball and Padel are growing fast, but they are not really fierce enough to warrant names like that, are they?  So, what sport could it be, maybe they are rugby team names. 

A Ryder Cup of Squash?

The view greeting you when you fly in to Bermuda

(Author's note:  First published in November 2012)

Every November for the last five years, I have attended the Bermuda Squash Challenge. This year there were 64 amateur squash players from various countries around the world in attendance. The nations represented were the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, South Africa and Bermuda of course. It is never very hard for those that travel to enjoy everything the island has to offer. There is world class golf, sailing, snorkeling and diving; and at the end of one of these long hard days in the sun one can enjoy a nice refreshing 'dark and stormy' or two, or more.

Squash's Olympic trials and tribulations are not over

The sport of squash is 200 years old and has had - at its peak - around 25 million regular participants hailing from almost every country on earth. Squash boasts a thriving international presence, with the PSA professional circuit drawing top talent from across the globe. From the powerhouse nations of Egypt, England, and France to rising stars in Peru, Colombia, and the US, the sport's competitive landscape is incredibly diverse and exciting. This global reach makes squash a perfect fit for the Olympics, where athletes from all corners of the world come together to celebrate excellence and sportsmanship.

How a US billionaire's investment will grow the sport of squash worldwide

This summer (2023) it was announced that billionaire investor Mark Walter has made a major investment in the sport of squash (likely over $10 million). Walter, who is the co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chelsea Football Club, has acquired a stake in Squash Media & Marketing (SMM), a commercial entity created and managed by the Professional Squash Association (PSA). The investment is part of a larger strategy to grow the sport of squash globally. 

The Last of the Mohicans

(Author's note: this article was originally written in September 2016. I thought I would repost it given that the sport of squash is being voted on soon by the LA 2028 Organizing Committee)

Six years ago I got terrible news.  The squash club just down the street from my home on 8th Avenue, where I played or coached almost every day, was finally scheduled to close permanently.  It was the last squash club that existed in downtown New York City and it closed its doors a short while later.  Hundreds of members of the squash club were shocked.  Playing squash was a ritual for many people, something which was abruptly taken away from them.

King Khan

(Author's note: Originally published in 2010; I am reposting this now because squash is about to get voted on by the LA 2028 Organizing Committee)

In my youth the best squash players I heard about were the two consecutive World Champions from Pakistan, Jahangir Khan and then Jansher Khan.  Given how long they remained at the top of the game, I naturally assumed they were the two best squash players up to that point in history.  But recently I discovered that there was another Khan, named Hashim, who preceded the other two by about two decades. And Hashim Khan may just have been better, given what he achieved and how he did it.  Either way, these Khans are three of the best players to have ever played the game.  I am sure anyone in Pakistan would tell you they are the three best ever.