Nicol David Voted Greatest World Games Athlete Of All-Time

Nicol David (MAS) can now officially lay claim to being the Greatest World Games Athlete of All-Time after she won an online fan-vote. 
 

The Malaysian Squash superstar won the vote with 318,943 votes to her name. David is a three-time gold medalist in women’s singles at the World Games. She also has a bronze medal to her name from the most recent edition of the Games. 
 

Speaking about the honor, David said, “It came as a surprise to see me amongst these other top athletes and I’m grateful for this...hopefully it can elevate attention for the future of Squash, and it’s a proud moment to represent my country and Asia.”

World Squash Federation President Zena Wooldridge commented, “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.”

She continued, “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.”

The runner-up for The World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time honor was James Kehoe (IRL). Kehoe, who finished the vote with 113,120 votes to his name, is a nine-time medalist at the World Games in Tug of War. 
 

Speaking about the support he received during the vote, he stated, “It’s been a very different but exciting few weeks. I am a shy person by nature and prefer to be out of the spotlight, but as the competition progresses, much to my surprise I am enjoying it more. I am totally overwhelmed by the amount of support I am receiving. It is an honour for me and my club to have been chosen as a competitor in this competition.”

Powerlifter Larysa Soloviova (UKR) finished third in the vote. Soloviova has four World Games gold medals to her name. 
 

Commenting on her performance in the vote, Soloviova stated, “During these weeks, we had a great challenge. People all over the world had to choose between many GREAT sportsmen. Each of these sportsmen deserve to be written down in the history of The World Games. I want to express my gratitude to all the powerlifters and friends of our sport from all the part of the World for their dedication and support! Thank you for constant everyday voting for me and for Powerlifting in general.”

She continued, “Thanks to the Ukrainian National Powerlifting Federation, Regional Powerlifitng Federations and International Powerlifting Federation for the media support and encouragement! I am very happy that we reached our goal together. My Friends, you proved to the World that Powerlifting is a big and strong sport Family, which unites many thousands of faithful hearts beating in one rhythm – rhythm of Sport. I strongly believe that our achievement will make a huge push in the promotion of powerlifting."

Speaking on David’s victory, and more so about the vote itself, IWGA President José Perurena stated, “I would like to warmly congratulate Nicol David, and also all the other candidates in the race. 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 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.”

The World Games are a quadrennial international multi-sports games mainly for sports not present at the Olympic Games. The next edition of the Games is scheduled to be held in Birmingham, Alabama in 2022. 
 

To view full results of the online vote, click here.