Michelle Martin

Last updated

Michelle Martin
Michelle Martin.jpg
Martin (left) during the World Masters 2012
Full nameMichelle Susan Martin
CountryAustralia
ResidenceSydney
Born (1967-04-29) 29 April 1967 (age 56)
Sydney
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) [1]
Retired1999
PlaysRight-handed
Women's singles
Highest rankingNo. 1 (March 1993)
World Open W (1993, 1994, 1995)
Medal record
Women's squash
Representing Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1993 Johannesburg Singles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1994 Saint Peter Port Singles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1995 Hong Kong Singles
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1992 Vancouver Singles
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1997 Sydney Singles
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1998 Stuttgart Singles
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 1999 Seattle Singles
World Team Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1994 Saint Peter Port Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1998 Stuttgart Team
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1998 Kuala Lumpur Singles
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1998 Kuala Lumpur Mixed doubles
Last updated: 6 March 2010.

Michelle Susan Martin OAM [2] (born 29 April 1967) is an Australian former professional squash player who was one of the game's leading players in the 1990s. She was ranked number one in the world from 1993 to 1996 and again in 1998 and 1999, and won three World Open titles and six British Open titles.

Contents

Early life

Martin was born on 29 April 1967 in Sydney, as the fourth of six children. [3] [4] Her older brothers Brett and Rodney also went on to be top professional players. [5] Her parents, who had built the Engadine Squash Centre below their family home, introduced her to the game when she was three years old. [4] [6] She would often play squash with her family after school, and at the age of eight, she came second in the state under-13s championship. [4] She moved with her family to Brisbane in 1980, and attended Everton Park State High School. [4] [7]

Career

She joined the Australian Institute of Sport's squash unit shortly after its establishment in 1985, and was part of the program for the rest of the 1980s; her coaches there included squash champions Geoff Hunt and Heather McKay. [4] [5] After working in a bank, she began her professional squash career in 1987, competing in her first of six World Team Squash Championships in that year; she went on to participate in all of them during her career except the 1989 championship. [5] [8]

In early 1990, Martin was considering giving up the sport due to lack of progress (her world ranking had been steady at No. 6 for some years), until her uncle Lionel Robberds began coaching her, providing her with a rigorous training program of running, gym work and physical drills. Her confidence in her game and world ranking began to increase. In late 1990, she met Phil Harte, who was to be her manager from then until 1992. Harte suggested that, rather than wearing the traditional shirt and skirt during squash games, she should wear a two-piece lycra suit because it was "something sexy" that would "shake up the squash world" and gain publicity for her in the process. She agreed to do so, which caused much controversy. [4] Fellow squash player Danielle Drady, who was married to Martin's brother Rodney, later left him for Harte, who became her manager and similarly had her dress in glad wrap for publicity. [4] [9] Rodney became Martin's coach in 1998. [1]

She spent 44 months as the best women's squash player in the world from March 1993 to October 1996 before Cassie Jackman of England broke her dominance; she was also ranked number one in the world in 1998 and 1999. [1] [6] [10] She won three consecutive World Open championships from 1993 to 1995, and was a finalist in all the World Opens from 1992 to 1999 except 1996; she also won six consecutive British Opens from 1993 to 1998. She represented her country at the 1996 and 1999 Squash World Cups, and won gold medals in the sport at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games in the women's singles and mixed doubles. She also won the Australian Open in 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, and 1999. At the end of 1999 she announced her retirement, saying she had achieved all her goals in the sport. [5] She worked as a manager and coach of the Australian women's junior and senior teams from 2003 to 2016. [11]

World Open

Finals: 7 (3 titles, 4 runners-up)

OutcomeYearLocationOpponent in the finalScore in the final
Runner-up 1992 Women's World Open Squash Championship Vancouver, Canada Flag of New Zealand.svg Susan Devoy 9–4, 9–6, 9–4
Winner 1993 Women's World Open Squash Championship Johannesburg, South Africa Flag of Australia (converted).svg Liz Irving 9–2, 9–2, 9–1
Winner 1994 Women's World Open Squash Championship Saint Peter Port, Guernsey Flag of England.svg Cassie Jackman 9–1, 9–0, 9–6
Winner 1995 Women's World Open Squash Championship Hong Kong Flag of Australia (converted).svg Sarah Fitz-Gerald 8–10, 9–2, 9–6, 9–3
Runner-up 1997 Women's World Open Squash Championship Sydney, Australia Flag of Australia (converted).svg Sarah Fitz-Gerald 9–5, 5–9, 6–9, 9–2, 9–3
Runner-up 1998 Women's World Open Squash Championship Stuttgart, Germany Flag of Australia (converted).svg Sarah Fitz-Gerald 10–8, 9–7, 2–9, 3–9, 10–9
Runner-up 1999 Women's World Open Squash Championship Seattle, United States Flag of England.svg Cassie Campion 9–6, 9–7, 9–7

World Team Championships

Finals: 6 (4 title, 2 runner-up)

OutcomeYearLocationOpponent in the finalScore in the final
Runner-up 1987 Women's World Team Squash Championships Auckland, New Zealand Flag of England.svg England2-1
Runner-up 1990 Women's World Team Squash Championships Sydney, Australia Flag of England.svg England2-1
Winner 1992 Women's World Team Squash Championships Vancouver, Canada Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand2-1
Winner 1994 Women's World Team Squash Championships Saint Peter Port, Guernsey Flag of England.svg England3-0
Winner 1996 Women's World Team Squash Championships Petaling Jaya, Malaysia Flag of England.svg England2-1
Winner 1998 Women's World Team Squash Championships Stuttgart, Germany Flag of England.svg England3-0

Personal life

Martin was married to Stephen Lacy, who was also her manager when she played professional squash, and the couple has two sons. [6] [11] [12]

Recognition

In 1994, Martin was named New South Wales Sportswoman of the Year. [4] She was inducted into the Australian Squash Hall of Fame in 1995 and was upgraded to Legend status in 2011; she was also inducted into the New South Wales Sports Hall of Champions in 1998, the Women's Squash Hall of Fame in 2000, and the Queensland Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. [5] [13] She received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2013. [2] [14] She was inducted into the World Squash Hall of Fame, the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, and the Australian Institute of Sport "Best of the Best" in 2001. [5] [13] [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Fitz-Gerald</span> Australian squash player

Sarah Elizabeth Fitz-GeraldAM is an Australian former professional squash player who won five World Open titles – 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001 and 2002. She ranks alongside Janet Morgan, Nicol David, Susan Devoy, Michelle Martin and Heather McKay as the sport's greatest female players of all time.

Heather Pamela McKay is an Australian retired squash player, who is considered by many to be the greatest female player in the history of the game, and possibly also Australia's greatest-ever sportswoman. She dominated the women's squash game in the 1960s and 1970s, winning 16 consecutive British Open titles from 1962 to 1977, and capturing the inaugural women's World Open title in 1976, while remaining undefeated during that period. She was also a top-level player of other sports, including field hockey and racquetball.

Rechelle Margaret Hawkes, is the former captain of the Australian Women's Hockey Team, best known as the Hockeyroos,she was captain for eight years and became the second Australian woman after swimmer Dawn Fraser to win three Olympic gold medals at three separate Olympic Games: Seoul 1988, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.

Rodney Martin is an Australian former professional squash player, who is best known for winning the 1991 World Open and becoming the first player to defeat Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan in the same event. After retiring as a player due to injury, he became a squash coach, working in Australia and the United States.

Rodney James Eyles is a former professional squash player from Australia. He is best remembered for winning the World Open title in 1997.

Danielle Harte is an Australian former professional squash player, who was ranked the World No. 2 woman player in March 1990.

Vicki Cardwell BEM is an Australian former World No. 1 squash player. She was one of the leading players on the international squash circuit from the late-1970s through to the mid-1990s. During her career, she won the World Open in 1983, and captured the British Open title four consecutive times in 1980-83.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dipika Pallikal</span> Indian squash player

Dipika Pallikal is an Indian professional squash player. She is the first Indian to break into the top 10 in the PSA Women's rankings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alyson Annan</span> Australian field hockey player

Alyson Regina Annan is an Australian field hockey coach and retired field hockey player, who earned a total number of 228 international caps for the Women's National Team, in which she scored 166 goals. Since 2022, she is also the current head coach of the China women's national field hockey team.

Juliet Haslam is a former field hockey defender and midfielder from Australia, who competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Priya Cooper</span> Australian Paralympic swimmer (born 1974)

Priya Naree Cooper, is an Australian world champion disabled swimmer, winning nine Paralympic gold medals as well as world records and world championships. She competed in the Australian swimming team at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Summer Paralympics with an S8 classification. She was twice the co-captain of the Australian Paralympic team, including at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, and carried the Australian flag at the closing ceremonies for the 1992 and 1996 Summer Paralympics. Cooper has cerebral palsy and spends much of her time in a wheelchair. She attended university, working on a course in health management. After she ended her competitive Paralympic career, she became a commentator, and covered the swimming events at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kasey Brown</span> Australian squash player

Kasey Brown is an Australian former squash player. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 5 in December 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nour El Sherbini</span> Egyptian squash player

Nour El Sherbini is an Egyptian professional squash player. She is a seven time World champion and became the youngest woman to win the Women's World Championship (2015). In 2016, she retained her title and in 2019 won her third World Championship equalling the feat of Michelle Martin and rising to equal fourth in the all-time list of world championships won. She is the current world champion after winning the 2022/2023 edition of the tournament.

Jocelyn "Joyce" Mavis Lester, OAM is an Australian softball player and coach. A catcher and outfielder, she joined the Australia women's national softball team in 1977, and captained it from 1985 until its bronze medal win at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, when she retired from international competition.. She played professionally for the first time in Japan from 1996 to 1999, and thereafter coached softball in both Japan and Australia. She was named to the world all-star softball team in 1986 and 1989, and has been inducted into the Queensland, Australian and world softball halls of fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Hall (Australian tennis)</span> Australian wheelchair tennis player

David Robert Hall, OAM is an Australian former professional wheelchair tennis player. With eight US Open singles titles, two Masters singles titles, and a Paralympic gold medal in singles, he has been referred to as Australia's greatest ever wheelchair tennis player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katrina Webb</span> Australian Paralympic athlete

Katrina Lea Webb-Denis, OAM is an Australian Paralympic athlete with cerebral palsy. She has won gold, silver and bronze medals in athletics at three Paralympic Games.

The Texas Open is an annual women's pro squash tournament that takes place alternately in Dallas and Houston, United States in the first half of the year. It is an official PSA World Tour event.

Michelle den Dekker, also known as Michelle Fielke, is an Australian netballer from South Australia. den Dekker represented Australia in 84 tests between 1988 and 1995, including a record 71 as captain. She received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 1992 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to sport.

The 1990 Mazda Women's World Open Squash Championship was the women's edition of the 1990 World Open, which serves as the individual world championship for squash players. The early stages of the event took place at the Thornleigh Squash Centre with the quarter-finals onwards being held at the Homebush Sports Centre in Sydney, Australia between 7 October and 14 October 1990. Susan Devoy won her third World Open title, defeating Martine Le Moignan in the final.

Carissa Leanne Tombs is a former Australian netball player. Having played for Australia 91 times, she is her country's seventh-most capped international. She won three World Netball Championships, in 1991, 1995 and 1999, and one Commonwealth Games gold medal in 1998.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Huxley, John (11 November 1998). "Our dynamic duopoly grinds out another year unchallenged". The Sydney Morning Herald . p. 45. Archived from the original on 28 November 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Mrs Michelle Susan, OAM". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  3. "Hall of fame members". Squash Australia . Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 FitzSimons, Peter (14 November 1994). "There's no time for losing in Martin's place". The Sydney Morning Herald . p. 43. Archived from the original on 28 November 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Michelle Martin". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 Berry, Eliot (9 December 1996). "Aussie Rules: For three years Sydney's Michelle Martin has been the queen of the court". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  7. "School History". Everton Park State High School. Archived from the original on 20 May 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  8. Lampp, Peter (11 March 1999). "Life low-key for squash No.1". Manawatu Standard . p. 20.
  9. "Danielle Harte (nee Drady)". Gold Coast Sporting Hall of Fame. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  10. Gilmour, Rod (2 July 2009). "Malaysia's Nicol David unmatched as world's best squash player for third year". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  11. 1 2 Julien, Diane (March 2020). "Michelle Martin, a high achiever" (PDF). World Squash Federation. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  12. "Wake-up call: How a 'weird' feeling saved squash champion Michelle Martin's life when she was diagnosed with heart disease". The Morning Show . 15 September 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  13. 1 2 "Michelle Martin awarded an OAM". Squash Australia. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  14. "Miss Michelle Martin: Australian Sports Medal". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  15. "Best of the Best". Australian Institute of Sport. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
Sporting positions
Preceded by World No. 1
May 1993 – October 1996
November 1998 – December 1999
Succeeded by