She received a runaway total of 318,943 votes. David had taken the lead in the online balloting since it began on January 08, 2021 with her nearest contenders Irish tug-of-war legend James Kehoe on 113,120 votes and Ukrainian powerlifter Larysa Soloviova on 80,790 votes.
The trio had originally been part of a 24-strong list of nominees, before this was trimmed to the top 10 athletes on January 20.
In total, 1,204,637 votes were cast during the poll. I had voted too!
"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".
Now retired, David was the women's world number one for a record-breaking 108 consecutive months, starting from August 2006 and ending in September 2015. And David triumphed at the World Games in 2005, 2009 and 2013, and finished with bronze in 2017.
International World Games Association President José Perurena said: "Nicol David is an inspirational athlete, and a fine role model for younger athletes”. And he added: "Sports really unite people in a special way. This vote was a celebration of that".
The top three athletes will receive a diploma, a trophy and a branded gift from the sponsor of the vote Protective Life. The vote took place to mark the 40th anniversary of the first edition of the World Games, which was held in Santa Clara in California, USA in 1981.
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