Photos by Bryn Vaile, Matchtight Ltd Dr Cook was presented with a Doctor of Medicine during a graduation ceremony
at Bath Abbey.
It was a particularly moving moment for Dr Cook, who spent two years
training at the Pentathlon GB high performance centre at the University of
Bath at the height of her sporting success.
³I¹m honoured and delighted to receive this honorary degree,² she said.
³Bath will always have a special place in my heart for everything it did for
me during my career as a modern pentathlete.
³I had a terrific team behind me in Bath which enabled me to achieve all
that I did and it proved once again that collectively a group can achieve so
much more than an individual.²
Dr Cook also praised the University¹s outstanding sports facilities that
helped her and so many other athletes achieve their full potential.
Dr Cook became the first woman to win modern pentathlon gold at Sydney 2000,
when the women¹s event made its Olympic debut.
The British modern pentathlete added the European Championship crown in
Bulgaria in 2001 and followed that up by winning gold at the World
Championships at Millfield in Somerset. That made her one of the few
athletes in any sport to have held the Olympic, World and European titles at
the same time a feat all the more remarkable given that her sport features
five different disciplines.
University of Bath Chancellor Lord Tugendhat presented the honorary degree
to Dr Cook, following an oration by Dr Dylan Thompson, a senior lecturer at
the University¹s School for Health. He praised Dr Cook¹s achievements in
mastering five different sporting disciplines to such a high level and
showing the same dedication in her new career as a doctor. Dr Cook has
worked as a hospital consultant and is currently training to be a GP.
Although no longer competing as an athlete, Dr Cook hasn¹t lost her ties
with sport she is currently a member of the Sports Advisory Group for the
London 2012 Organising Committee and was a founder member of the Faculty of
Sport and Exercise Medicine.
British women have won half of the medals available since the women¹s event
made its Olympic debut at Sydney 2000. Dr Cook took gold in Sydney, with
team-mate Kate Allenby winning bronze, while Georgina Harland won bronze in
Athens four years ago.
Heather Fell and Katy Livingston will aim to follow in their footsteps in
Beijing in August.
