Gawain Briars

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Gawain Briars
Personal information
Born4 April 1958 (1958-04-04) (age 68)
Witney, Oxfordshire, England
Sport
CountryEngland England
Highest rankingNo.4 (February 1986)
Medal record
Men's squash
Representing  England
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place1985 CairoSingles
European Team Championships
Gold medal – first place1978 AmsterdamTeam
Gold medal – first place1979 HamburgTeam
Gold medal – first place1982 CardiffTeam
Silver medal – second place1983 MunichTeam
Gold medal – first place1986 Aix-en-ProvenceTeam

Gawain Peter Briars (born 4 April 1958) is a sportsman and lawyer in the United Kingdom. In the world of squash, he has won several major international titles and served as executive director of the Professional Squash Association.

Biography

Born in Witney,[1] Briars learnt to play squash at Gresham's School, Holt, which he attended from 1968 to 1976, and became a professional squash player on leaving school at the age of eighteen, continuing as a professional until 1989.

He became the British number one player in 1985, and at the top of his career was the fourth-ranked squash player in the world. He won titles in the US, France, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Monte Carlo, Singapore and Malaysia, and was President of the world Professional Squash Association from 1985 to 1987. He also represented England at the 1981, 1983 & 1985 World Team Squash Championships.[2]

Briars won four gold medals for the England men's national squash team at the European Squash Team Championships in 1978, 1979, 1982 and 1986.[3][4]

Briars was the British national champion in 1979 and 1982.[5] He also coached for the Welsh national team.[6]

On retiring from the professional sport in 1989, Briars went to University College, Cardiff to study law, and subsequently qualified as a solicitor in 1994. He then practised as a commercial lawyer.

With effect from 1 October 1999, he was appointed as executive director of the Professional Squash Association (PSA), succeeding John Nimick, of Boston, USA, and commented: "This represents a wonderful move for me away from the legal profession, but not without relinquishing the invaluable knowledge and experience I have gained whilst practising in commercial law. This career change represents an exciting partnership of my two life careers and places me on the threshold of what I am certain will be a bright future for the professional game of squash which has provided me with so many happy memories."

References

  1. Halpin, Larry (1986). The Squash Rackets Association Annual 1986-87. SRA Francis House. pp. 25–31. ISBN 0-900698-098.
  2. Palmer, Michael (1984). Guinness Book of Squash. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. ISBN 0-85112-270-1.
  3. "European Team Squash Championships". InterSportStats. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  4. "Men's European Team Championship: Event History (53 events)". Squash Info. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  5. "History - British National Squash Champions 1974-2021". British National Squash Championships. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
  6. "Squash". Llanelli Star. 14 September 1989. p. 56. Retrieved 4 May 2026 – via British Newspaper Archive.