Andy Whipp reports
Thierry Lincou:
- World Open Champion 2004 (Runner-Up 2003)
- British Open Runner-Up x 2 (2006 & 2007)
- Hong Kong Open Champion 2004
- 23 PSA Titles
- World No.1 for 12 months
When talking about great male squash players, we hear certain names all the time: Jahangir, Jansher, Ramy, Shabana, ElShorbagy, Nick Matthew, Gaultier, Gawad, Peter Nicol, Jon Power and David Palmer – but there’s one guy who was both World No.1 AND World Champion who is hardly ever mentioned – THIERRY LINCOU!
Why and how has he become the forgotten G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time)?
People also talk about Rodney Martin, Chris Dittmar and Peter Marshall as greats. Rodney won the World Championships but never reached World No.1, Dittmar never won a World Championship, and “The Axeman” Marshall didn’t achieve either – Thierry did both!
Don’t get me wrong, all the players mentioned above are awesome, and all deserve to be in the mix when talking about squash GOAT’s, but from my countless conversations about squash over the years with thousands of squash fanatics, I’ve realised Thierry is rarely remembered. I have to admit that until writing this (and I consider myself a decent squash statistician), I’d actually forgotten he won a World Championship!! [Fram appalled]
Thierry offered so much.
He was instantly recognisable with his unique lateral “crab” style movement and his high calf socks (the first squash player to adopt these). For several years, he was a constant feature in the semi-finals and finals of major tournaments and ranked inside the top 10 for 10 years straight.
He was the first Frenchman to reach any sort of ‘highs’ in the world of squash, leading the way for a whole generation of top French players for the next two decadesn and the first non anglo-saxon to make it to the top of the PSA ladder.
His unique way of movement inspired one of the best movers in our sports history, and one of the most popular players of all time; Gregory Gaultier. And all this from a guy who grew up in Réunion, an isolated island tucked away in the Indian Ocean, a short swim from Mauritius, a 4-hour flight from South Africa, and a 12-hour flight from France!
I genuinely have no idea how somebody can become so good when there is so little competition; it’s incredible. Yes, he moved to France when he was 18, and that is where he went from being a good squash player, to world class, but how do you become so good when you live in Reunion? An incredible achievement, which must go to show his natural athleticism and determination are of the very highest level.
For most of us looking back, his playing style wasn’t particularly memorable or even describable. He wasn’t a prolific winner of major PSA titles. A good comparison would be David Palmer. “The Marine” Palmer didn’t necessarily have a memorable playing style either, and spent far fewer months as the world top-ranked player compared to Lincou, but David was a physical presence, had a much stronger personality on court, and by the end of his career had notched up many more major final appearances than Thierry did, and importantly won 2 World Championships and four British Opens. This ensures David will always be considered as a squash legend.
So poor “Titi” Thierry was just Mr. Consistent – and unfortunately that means Mr. Forgettable. Why is consistent forgettable? How unfair is that?! I wish I was more consistent in my squash career.
Whatever the reasons are, Thierry Lincou is slightly overlooked; this is a good chance to remember his qualities. Go and watch a game or two on YouTube. Look out for
- his backhand volley drop was great
- His movement, which now may look normal as it’s been adopted by the majority of French players since, was at the time unique
- His superb accuracy
- And unwavering mentally.
Think about this – without Thierry, we may not have had Gregory Gaultier!
In squash, there always needs to be a trailblazer for a country to become a powerhouse; Thierry was one, and Ahmed Barada was another.
I’m also sure Tecnifibre rackets are forever grateful to Thierry. Before his success, they were seen only as a squash string company, and now look what they’ve achieved with Thierry’s platform.
In the last 20 years, almost every squash player on the planet has had a Tecnifibre racket in their hand at some stage – would this have happened without Thierry? I doubt it.
