Cooky Monster dreams of gold

9:40am Saturday 19th July 2008

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Beijing-bound Chris Cookheads for his second Olympics later this month with a relaxed approach.

Sports Writer Paul Fraser finds out that the South Shields swimmer has not always had it easy in the pool

CHRIS Cook will be 30 next May and competes in his second Olympics in Beijing.

But with a wave of emerging talent coming behind him, it could be his last. With that mind and after a ten-year career that has heralded prestige podium finishes in Shanghai, Trieste and Melbourne, the South Shields swimmer is determined to relax and enjoy the experience.

When he reflects on his rise to prominence through an extreme dedication to the sport over the last decade, Cook readily accepts he was a late developer and could not have predicted he would have been an Olympian twice over at this stage of his life.

At 19 he was pulling pints in a bar in his hometown, in between carrying out a parttime role as a lifeguard and glass collecting at another of his local drinking holes. He was a keen swimmer, but never dedicated the time required to seriously compete.

But after a short move to Newcastle, where he was handed a scholarship at Northumbria University, Cook found he had more talent in the pool than he first thought.

The more time he dedicated to bringing on his breaststroke technique, the more he realised how much he loved the sport. Hard work gradually reaped its rewards and he now sits fifth in the world rankings ahead of next month’s Olympics. It wasn’t all plain sailing.

The expense of travelling around the country, and sometimes the world, without sponsorship early in his career was desperately difficult.

Cook, however, has emerged stronger and more confident because of the experience through his eight years competing for the City of Newcastle under the tutelage of coach Ian Oliver.

“When I started as a kid I used to swim for South Tyneside Swimming Club but it was when I moved to Newcastle – at about 20 – when I started to really kick on. I have not looked back since then,” said Cook, who has gone on to claim medals in the World Championships and Commonwealth Games.

“I knew I had ability having learned so much at a young age but it was not until I went to Uni that I did it every day and the more I did it the more I loved it. I just kept going back for more and more.

“It has not always been easy. I worked in a club collecting glasses, among other things, and all the jobs were designed to just get me through college. But when I got a scholarship at University I had lottery funding and there have been more steps along the way.

“It’s quite funny because I swam to a reasonable national standard but I didn’t take it seriously. It’s a sport you have to dedicate your life to really. I wasn’t doing that. Moving to Newcastle was my last chance. I suppose if that hadn’t worked out then I would have probably quit the sport. I went to University and I threw myself into it and I’ve never looked back.”

Given the high regard there is for Cook within British swimming, it seems strange to believe that has not always been the case. In fact he endured the most testing of times on the back of his appearance at the Athens Olympics.

Having been funded by the Sport England World-Class Funding Programme, the financial backing came to an end after his appearance in 2004. Even though he had prepared himself for such a situation, he struggled for form in the early part of 2007.

A semi-final finish in the 200m breaststroke was all he could manage in the Greek capital and that was not sufficient to earn him hero status back in his homeland – meaning he had to reassess how to cope with ensuring the funding came along again.

“There were times when I really struggled to finance the trips to all over and you start to think about what you are doing,” said Cook. “I started to get funding in 2000 but there have been times when I have not had funding. You just have to refocus and you have to get money in other ways. If you can fund your way around the circuit, pay for your train ticket and break even, then anything you can make after that is a bonus. There was foresight because I knew I was going to lose it. I had to make sure I made a bit of money so I was working at the pool at University, they helped me. Northumbria Uni were excellent in helping me out when I needed it.”

Despite the frustrations Cook has endured over the years, his rise to third in the Great Britain rankings has left him as one of the most admired male swimmers in the country.

A mark of his progress is how David Carry, the British record holder in the 400m freestyle, has enrolled his friend in a swimming group called the Aquateers.

The programme is designed to broaden the appeal to the younger generation in the hope of helping to unearth the next Olympic gold medalist.

Cook, for one, feels strongly about his involvement. “I have a little nickname called Cooky Monster, it’s a bit quirky,” he said. “That’s a little joke but the serious side of the Aquateers is to make sure information gets down to youngsters and we have to make sure that we inspire. They can come along and see the swimming but it’s nice if they can have some feedback from the swimmers involved. If the kids have questions or whatever then I think it’s nice, I would have liked that as a kid. We have to bridge that gap.”

With Hartlepool’s Jemma Lowe and Northallerton’s Joanne Jackson also Beijing bound, North-East swimming will have plenty to be proud of in China. Unfortunately, though, much of their progress has been down to spending large amounts of time practicing outside the North-East. The recent opening of Sunderland’s Aquatics Centre has ensured that swimmers can now head there instead of to Sheffield’s Ponds Forge – something that has been long overdue. “North-East swimming has so much passion and talent,” said Cook. “We just need to keep directing everyone in the right way and Sunderland will help to do that. We have to keep directing it towards Olympic gold. That’s success. “I really think as a nation we are not really taking that on board but as a nation we are starting to do that now. We have got Joanne, Jemma Lowe, Jessica Dickons. It’s great to see the likes of those knocking socks off the Americans and Australians. It’s great to see and when they are wearing the GB jersey it’s even better.” While Cook predicts a certain amount of success from Lowe and Jackson in Beijing, he is trying to proceed with caution as he looks to improve on his performance four years ago. For the last eight years, he has been waking up to his alarm clock at 5am almost every morning, heading to the pool for a session in the pool before squeezing in hours of physical training in between. His routine has all been designed to help him reach the top. Next month, when he plots his route to the final of the 100m breaststroke in the Far East, he will learn whether it has all been worthwhile. “The lure of the Olympics brings you into the sport,” he said. “You think of the Olympics and it’s a just an incredible spectacle. I was at the one in 2004 and it passed me by almost, but heading into this one I feel I’m going to appreciate it even more.

“I didn’t quite take in the scale of the Olympics and I turned up a little bit wet behind the ears really, I wasn’t really sure of what was going on. I was thrown into this massive spotlight and it was hard to cope with.

“Going back a second time I feel like I know what to expect and I feel like the big things aren’t so big now. It’s all fancy show. I feel more comfortable with it and more mature. I have developed late and it’s one of things that I have embraced.

“Everyone dreams of gold in their discipline. To make that call is a massive call. I am just looking to go and appreciate it. Every round, every heat.”

Cook will never forget claiming double gold in the 50m and 100m Commonwealth Games two years ago. If he can repeat the magic of Melbourne by being brilliant in Beijing, he could well be celebrating an even greater moment of his life.