Geoff Hunt

For the ice hockey player, see Jeff Hunt. For the marine artist, see Geoff Hunt (marine artist). For the golfer, see Geoffrey Hunt.

Geoff Hunt
AM MBE

Personal information
Nationality	Australian
Born	(1947-03-11) 11 March 1947 Melbourne, Australia
Sport
Handedness	Right Handed
Men's Singles
Highest ranking	1 (February 1976)
World Open	W (1976, 1977, 1979, 1980)
Medal record Men's squash Representing Australia World Championships 1976 London Singles 1977 Adelaide Singles 1979 Toronto Singles 1980 Adelaide Singles 1981 Toronto Singles World Team Championships 1967 Sydney Team 1969 Midlands Team 1971 Auckland Team World Amateur Championship 1967 Melbourne Singles 1969 London Singles 1971 Hamilton Singles

Geoffrey Brian Hunt, AM MBE (born 11 March 1947), is a retired squash player from Australian who is widely considered to be one of the greatest squash players in history. He was four-times world champion, three-times world amateur champion and eight-times British Open champion.

Career Overview

Hunt was born in Melbourne and now resides in Queensland. He won the Australian Junior Championship in 1963, and he first won the Australian Amateur men's Championship in 1965.

Hunt turned professional shortly after winning his third World Amateur Squash Championship final in 1971.

He was ranked the World No.1 squash player from 1975 to 1980. He won the World Open title four times. He was the event's inaugural champion, winning the competition on the first four occasions it was held (1976, 1977, 1979 and 1980). He also won the British Open (which was considered to be the effective world championship event involving both amateurs and professionals before the World Open began) eight times between 1969 and 1981. Hunt won 178 of the 215 tournaments he contested during his career.

In 1974, he was a leading participant in the formation of the International Squash Players Association which was formed to give players a voice in an era dominated by the Squash Rackets Association. He was elected vice-president alongside Jonah Barrington (chairman), Ken Hiscoe (president) and Geoff Poole (secretary).

Hunt was known for having great determination. He ultimately suffered back problems, which curtailed his career. After retiring as a player, Hunt served as the Head Squash Coach at the Australian Institute of Sport from 1985–2003, where he helped develop a new generation of Australian squash stars. He then worked for 8 years at the Aspire Academy in Doha, Qatar. Following his retirement and move back to Australia, he has continued to coach Qatari professional player Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi.

Recognition

In the 1972 New Years Honours Hunt was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to sport and international relations. He became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 1982 Australia Day Honours and received the Australian Sports Medal in 2000.

Hunt has been inducted into the World Squash Federation Hall of Fame and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

World Open final appearances

Wins (4)
Year	Opponent in final	Score in final
1976	Mohibullah Khan	7–9, 9–4, 8–10, 9–2, 9–2
1977	Qamar Zaman	9–5, 10–9, 0–9, 9–4
1979	Qamar Zaman	9–2, 9–3, 9–2
1980	Qamar Zaman	9–0, 9–3, 9–3
Runners-up (1)
Year	Opponent in final	Score in final
1981	Jahangir Khan	7–9, 9–1, 9–2, 9–2

British Open final appearances

Wins (8)
Year	Opponent in final	Score in final
1969	Cam Nancarrow	9–5, 9–4, 9–0
1974	Mo Yasin	walkover (injury)
1976	Mohibullah Khan	7–9, 9–4, 8–10, 9–2, 9–2
1977	Cam Nancarrow	9–4, 9–4, 8–10, 9–4
1978	Qamar Zaman	7–9, 9–1, 9–1, 9–2
1979	Qamar Zaman	2–9, 9–7, 9–0, 6–9, 9–3
1980	Qamar Zaman	9–3, 9–2, 1–9, 9–1
1981	Jahangir Khan	9–2, 9–7, 5–9, 9–7
Runners-up (2)
Year	Opponent in final	Score in final
1970	Jonah Barrington	9–7, 3–9, 9–4, 9–4
1972	Jonah Barrington	0–9, 9–7, 10–8, 6–9, 9–7

Books

Geoff Hunt on Squash (London: Cassell) 1977.

External links

• Page at squashpics.com
• Monash University alumni profile
• Geoff Hunt at Squash Info