Bull's-eye!

Sarah Strikes Her Last Target
Commonwealth Games 2002 Women

By Colin McQuillan

Photo by Steve Line/Squashpics.com

Australia took the Commonwealth Games gold medal from the women's squash singles at Sportcity in Manchester on the last day of July, with four-times world champion Sarah Fitz-Gerald defeating New Zealand's Carol Owens 5, 0, (2), 10-9 in the 58-minute women's final. The bronze medals went to Cassie Jackman of England, and Rachael Grinham of Australia.

The 33-year-old Fitz-Gerald thus added the Commonwealth Gold to the World title, the British Open title, world No. 1 ranking, and total domination of the women's game she had set herself as targets when coming back from nearly a year off with knee and back problems. “I will have to go home and set myself a whole new set of targets,” she said after a match in which she seemed set fair at the end of the second, but had to call on all her experience to finally nail down in the fourth.

“This was all so much harder than a normal tournament,” Fitz-Gerald said. “The pressures were intense.

“I was almost relieved as much as delighted to have the gold around my neck,” she continued.

To read the complete report, including why Carol Owens referred to herself as a “headless chook,” please see the August/September 2002 issue of Squash Magazine.

Bull's-eye!

Sarah Strikes Her Last Target Commonwealth Games 2002 Women

Sarah Strikes Her Last Target
Commonwealth Games 2002 Women