Today marks 100 days to go until The World Games 2022 gets under way in Birmingham, Alabama July 7-17.
The World Games is a multi-sport event held every four years and features over 30 sports – including squash – as 3,600 athletes descend on Birmingham.
Squash was first included in the World Games in 1997 in Lahti, Finland, when Egypt’s Ahmed Barada and Australia’s Sarah Fitz-Gerald took the men’s and women’s gold medals, respectively.
Since then, former World No.1s such as Peter Nicol, Nick Matthew and Gregory Gaultier have won gold in the men’s event, while legendary Malaysian Nicol David – who last year was named the World Games’ All Time Greatest Athlete – is the most successful squash athlete at The World Games, with three gold medals to her name.
Germany’s Simon Rösner and France’s Camille Serme are the most recent winners, beating Gregoire Marche of France and Joey Chan of Hong Kong in the 2017 finals in Wroclaw, Poland.
The squash programme at The World Games 2022 will be held between July 13-17 and will see 64 athletes – 32 men and 32 women – battling it out at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Speaking earlier, WSF President Zena Wooldridge highlighted the importance of the World Games to squash, saying: “The World Games provides a unique window to showcase squash to a global audience and to showcase the incredible skill and athleticism of our best squash players.
“We were so excited and proud when Nicol was voted The World Games’ Greatest Athlete last year. It reflects the importance to squash of being part of the World Games family and the richness of the multi-sport games experience for athletes.
“I’m very much looking forward to experiencing my first World Games and I’m sure it will be a week to remember for all those involved in Birmingham, Alabama.”
For more information on The World Games 2022, visit the competition website or follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.