Peter Nicol MBE and Tim Garner’s incredible week of playing squash around the world ended on a high in the US where they successfully completed the Xodus 7 Continent Challenge.
Nicol won the overall competition 4-3 after outlasting Garner in the seventh and final match 3-2 (11-6, 8-11, 12-10, 4-11, 11-9)—a contest which, appropriately enough, went the distance.
A big crowd turned out at the Chelsea Piers Club in Stamford, Connecticut, to celebrate the end of Nicol and Garner’s whistle-stop week of squash matches. The pair began their journey in the Falkland Islands on Saturday April 13 and played matches in Santiago (Chile), Sydney (Australia), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Cairo (Egypt), London (England) and Connecticut, USA, in a show of support for squash’s bid for inclusion in the 2020 Olympics. They covered a distance of 40,000 miles and spent over 70 hours on airplanes along the way.
“We wanted to show what a global sport squash is and I think we’ve done that,” said Nicol, a former World No. 1 in squash.
“It’s been the most extraordinary week of our lives and there’s an amazing sense of accomplishment now that we’ve done it. But we can’t wait to get home and sleep in our own beds!”
“We’ve had so much support along the way and that’s really kept us going in the tougher moments,” said Garner.
“It has been a tough challenge, but I am pleased that we both managed to come through it relatively unscathed, though it may take a few days to recover as the muscles and bones are feeling a little weary!
“It was great to spend a week with one of my best friends who, fittingly, I met through squash—though it was annoying to lose to him in the decider!
“It’s hard to put into words how exhausted we are but we’re really elated too. It was a crazy idea, and I can’t quite believe that we’ve actually managed to do it.”
