Squash world champion. Nicol was born in Inverurie, son of the Scottish national squash team coach. By 1992, the left-handed player had entered the world rankings and within three years was in the top five. He reached No. 1 by 1998, and in the same year became the first Briton for 25 years to win the British Open and went on to take the gold medal for Scotland in the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). In recognition of his achievements, Nicol was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list (1999).
With his father, Nicol owns a sports club in Westhill near Aberdeen.
Nicol courted controversy when he left Scotland to join the English team because of poor funding of the sport north of the border (2001). He now lives in London.
