COC
Nicole Bunyan and George Crowne of Canada compete against the Independent Athletes Team in the Squash Mixed Doubles Semifinals during the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games on Thursday, November 02, 2023. Photo by Darren Calabrese/COC *MANDATORY CREDIT*
Oakville’s Ben Crowne and his partner Nicole Bunyan of Victoria B.C. have both won Silver medals in Mixed Doubles squash after their performances at the 2023 Pan Am Games in Santiago Chile.
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The pair won their semi-final match against the Pan Am Games Independent Athletes Team by a set score of 2-0.
But in the gold medal game, the duo lost to the USA by a set score of 2-1.
All three sets were highly competitive as the USA won the first set 11-6, Canada took the second set 11-10, and the USA took the final set 11-6.
"I think we did really well," said Crowne. "We turned the second [set] around and grabbed the second game."
"It was tough to come out slowly in the first and third [sets] and when you go down five points it’s hard to turn those games around."
"I’m really happy that we dug in deep and fought till the last point."
When playing doubles in a sport like Squash or even Tennis, you need to have trust in your partner and good team chemistry. Even though the two had not played together before these games, they had exactly that.
"Nicole is an amazing teammate," said Crowne. "She keeps me steady, I keep her steady. She’s a positive influence on me and I think we work really well as a team."
These games were not just big for this Canadian duo, but it was big for the sport of Squash collectively.
On October 16, the International Olympic Committee added five sports to the Summer 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Those five sports? Cricket, flag football, baseball, softball...and squash.
Crowne and many squash players are thrilled that squash will now be an Olympic event.
"I’m absolutely excited, squash is an amazing sport and it doesn’t get the love it deserves."
But this decision was years in the making for squash players: "It’s been I don’t even know how many years since we have been trying to get into the Olympics and finally we are going to have the spotlight that we deserve."
"It’s about time, honestly I’m frustrated that [squash] didn’t get in earlier but I’m super happy to see [squash] get [into the Olympics] in 2028."
