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 is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

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, or simply the PSA, is the governing body for the men's and women's professional Squash (sport), squash circuit. The body operates in a similar fashion to the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP and the ...

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, officially the XIV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Santo Domingo 2003, were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the Games was made in the mid-1990 ...

, which is her only appearance at a

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

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, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

, 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 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and in the

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

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'') were held in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar between 6 and 12 July 2019. This was the second time the territory hosted the Games, the first being in 1995. Th ...

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