ISM March 2017
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Q&A: JOEL MAKIN<br />
Makin talks with<br />
Q&AJoel<br />
International Squash Magazine.<br />
JOELMAKIN<br />
Earliest sporting memory:<br />
Watching the Sydney Olympics on TV<br />
aged five and seeing Steve Redgrave win<br />
his 5th Gold medal in his 5th Olympic<br />
Games. My earliest memory in squash<br />
was winning at court sprints rather than<br />
hitting a ball!<br />
Sports watched: Squash, rugby,<br />
athletics, cricket, tennis, and boxing.<br />
Sports played:<br />
Squash, rugby, running, cricket and<br />
football.<br />
Why a life in sport, or if it hadn’t<br />
happened, what would you have<br />
done instead?<br />
I have always loved sport from a very<br />
young age. I specifically like individual<br />
sport because it’s just down to you<br />
and you are responsible for winning<br />
and losing. I like to think I would have<br />
done another sport professionally if not<br />
squash!<br />
Toughest part of your sporting life:<br />
Injury or illness, having to take time off<br />
from my training and playing and not<br />
knowing how long it will be before I’m<br />
back competing.<br />
Most memorable sporting moment:<br />
The opening ceremony of the<br />
Commonwealth Games, walking into the<br />
stadium in front of thousands of people<br />
was definitely the most memorable<br />
moment. Followed by two weeks of<br />
being amongst the best athletes and<br />
competition in the world.<br />
Worst sporting moment:<br />
Losing in the Tournament of Champions<br />
in New York earlier this year having<br />
had a match ball in the first round of<br />
qualifying. It was a tough loss to take<br />
because of how close it was and my first<br />
attempt at qualifying for a PSA World<br />
Series tournament.<br />
Sporting heroes:<br />
Growing up with rugby as the most<br />
popular sport in Wales, as a child, it<br />
would have been Shane Williams. Now,<br />
it would definitely be Jonah Barrington.<br />
This is because of his resilience and<br />
determination. Through this, his brutal<br />
training and incredible attention to detail,<br />
he beat all of the world’s best players. As<br />
well as what he has done for squash in<br />
making it into the professional sport it is<br />
today.<br />
Favourite venue and why:<br />
The best venue I’ve seen is the<br />
Tournament of Champions at Grand<br />
Central Terminal in New York. It’s such<br />
an iconic venue and with thousands of<br />
people passing through Grand Central<br />
every day, it’s great for the exposure of<br />
the sport. It’s great that we have courts<br />
that can be put anywhere and it would<br />
be great if we could have squash at more<br />
iconic venues.<br />
14 | <strong>March</strong> <strong>2017</strong> INTERNATIONALSQUASHMAGAZINE<br />
www.isportgroup.com/InternationalSquashMagazine
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