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Carol Owens (squash player)

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Carol Owens
Country Australia,  New Zealand
Born (1971-06-04) 4 June 1971 (age 53)
ResidenceAuckland, New Zealand
Retired2004
Women's singles
Highest rankingNo. 1 (November 2002)
Medal record
Women's squash
Representing  Australia
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2000 Edinburgh Singles
Bronze medal – third place 1997 Sydney Singles
World Team Championships
Gold medal – first place 1994 Saint Peter Port Team
Gold medal – first place 1996 Petaling Jaya Team
Gold medal – first place 1998 Stuttgart Team
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Kuala Lumpur Doubles
Representing  New Zealand
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2003 Hong Kong Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2001 Melbourne Singles
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Doha Singles
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2002 Manchester Doubles
Silver medal – second place 2002 Manchester Singles
Updated on 3 March 2010.

Carol Owens (born 4 June 1971) is a former New Zealand-based squash player who won the World Open in 2000 and 2003.

Owens was born in Melbourne, Australia, and would eventually change her nationality when she moved to Auckland, New Zealand.[citation needed] A right-hander, she made her competitive debut in 1990 in the Swiss Open where she finished 17th.[citation needed] Her first final was the 1993 Japan Open where she was a runner-up to the Canadian Heather Wallace. She did not have to wait long for her first major victory, which came in October in Adelaide, South Australia.[citation needed]

She was part of the Australian winning team at the 1994 Women's World Team Squash Championships, 1996 Women's World Team Squash Championships and 1998 Women's World Team Squash Championships.

She has the unique achievement of representing both Australia and New Zealand at the highest level and is the first female player to win medals for two countries at the Commonwealth Games.[1]

Owens began to challenge for the world championship whilst still representing Australia and her first World Open title came in 2000 when she came back from two games down to beat New Zealander Leilani Joyce 7–9, 3–9, 10–8, 9–6, 9–1. This was after an equally epic semi-final against Sarah Fitz-Gerald.
In 2001, Owens changed her nationality, becoming a New Zealander and at the 2002 Commonwealth Games she won the gold in the doubles and a silver in the singles. The elusive second world title came in 2003, when she beat Cassie Campion 3–9, 9–2, 9–7, 9–3. It was in 2003 that she became – for the first time – the World No. 1 ranked player.

At the beginning of 2004, Owens announced that she had retired from the professional game.[2]

World Open

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Finals: 2 (2 title, 0 runners-up)

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Outcome Year Location Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 2000 Women's World Open Squash Championship Edinburgh, Scotland New Zealand Leilani Joyce 9–6, 9–5, 7–9, 5–9, 9–6
Winner 2003 Women's World Open Squash Championship Hong Kong England Cassie Jackman 3–9, 9–2, 9–7, 9–3

World Team Championships

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Finals: 3 (3 title, 0 runner-up)

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Outcome Year Location Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 1994 Women's World Team Squash Championships Saint Peter Port, Guernsey England England 3–0
Winner 1996 Women's World Team Squash Championships Petaling Jaya, Malaysia England England 2–1
Winner 1998 Women's World Team Squash Championships Stuttgart, Germany England England 3–0

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Former world champion starred for rivals Australia and New Zealand". 11 March 2014.
  2. ^ Bronstein, Martin (12 January 2004). "So Farewell Carol Owens: A Personal Tribute by Martin Bronstein, Written Specially for SquashTalk". Squashtalk.com. Archived from the original on 8 February 2010. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by
Sarah Fitz-Gerald
Sarah Fitz-Gerald
Natalie Grainger
World No. 1
November 2002
March 2003 – May 2003
July 2003 – January 2004
Succeeded by