Marlene West (born 8 June 1972) is a Jamaican-born squash player who has represented both Jamaica and Cayman Islands at the international competitions. She initially pursued her career in swimming and water polo before switching to squash. She has competed at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

on five occasions representing Jamaica and Cayman Islands in two different time intervals. She is also a four time Cayman Islands national champion in the women's singles and she is regarded as one of the best squash players to have represented Cayman Islands. She has claimed medals in international events even after the age of 40's. She achieved her highest PSA career ranking of 71 in May 2010 during the 2010 PSA World Tour.

Career

Jamaica (1987-2006)

Marlene started to compete in National Swimming Championships from 1987 and also captained the Jamaican national water polo team. However she pursued her major part of her career in squash and joined the

Professional Squash Association The Professional Squash Association (PSA) is the governing body for the men's and women's professional squash circuit. The body operates in a similar fashion to the ATP and the WTA for tennis. The PSA's highest professional level, the PSA Wor ...

in 1994. She represented Jamaica at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, which was her maiden Commonwealth Games appearance. Marlene also competed at the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

, which is her only appearance at a

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

event. She also took part at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

, which was also the last appearance she made for Jamaica before moving to Cayman Islands.

Cayman Islands (2006-present)

She represented the Cayman Islands at the 2010 Commonwealth Games which was also her debut Cayman Islands appearance at an international event. She then went onto compete at the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and in the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

. She also competed at the 2012 Women's World Open Squash Championship and became the first player from Cayman Islands to compete at a World Open Squash Championship. She made her

Island Games The Island Games (currently known as the NatWest International Island Games for sponsorship reasons) are biennial international multi-sports events organised by the International Island Games Association (IIGA). Competitor teams each represent d ...

debut in 2011 and claimed two medals at the event. Marlene claimed three gold medals at the

2019 Island Games The XVIII Island Games (officially the ''2019 NatWest Island Games'') was held in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar between 6 and 12 July 2019. This was the second time that the territory has hosted the games, the first being in 1995. ...

at the age of 47 on her first Island Games event after six years due to the non inclusion of squash in 2015 and 2017 editions.

References

1972 births Living people Jamaican female squash players Caymanian squash players Jamaican female swimmers Jamaican female water polo players Squash players at the 2003 Pan American Games Squash players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Squash players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Squash players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Squash players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Squash players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Jamaica Commonwealth Games competitors for the Cayman Islands Pan American Games competitors for Jamaica Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for the Cayman Islands Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for the Cayman Islands Sportspeople from Kingston, Jamaica Jamaican expatriate sportspeople in the Cayman Islands Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in squash Competitors at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games Squash players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games {{Authority control