Steph Cook

Stephanie Jayne "Steph" Cook, MBE (born 7 February 1972)^[1] is a British retired modern pentathlete. She was the Olympic champion at this event in 2000.

Steph Cook
MBE

Personal information
Full name	Stephanie Jayne Cook
Nationality	British
Born	7 February 1972 (1972-02-07) (age 52) Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland
Alma mater	Lincoln College, Oxford
Medal record Women's modern pentathlon Representing  Great Britain Olympic Games 2000 Sydney Individual

Cook was born in Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland.^[1] She was educated at Bedford High School; The Perse School for Girls; Peterhouse, Cambridge and then Lincoln College, Oxford, where she read medicine.

Having rowed at Cambridge, she took up modern pentathlon whilst completing her course in clinical medicine at Oxford. She was president of the Oxford University Modern Pentathlon Association in 1995–1996, and won the women's individual title in the Varsity match against Cambridge in 1997.

Although reported as "having put her medical career on hold", she was supported through her training from 1998 to 2000 by Consultant Surgeon Mark Whiteley who funded a research job for her in Guildford, during which she published three papers with him.^[2][3][4] She paid him tribute in 2002 during the TV programme This is Your Life.^[5]

Cook won the gold medal in the Sydney 2000 Olympics in the women's modern pentathlon,^[1] the first time that the event was included in the games. She went on to win individual World and European titles in 2001 before retiring from the sport. Her particular strength was running.^[1]

Honours

In the 2001 New Year Honours, Cook was appointed as a member of the Order of The British Empire for services to modern pentathlon.^[6] In 2008, she was awarded an honorary degree (Doctor of Medicine) from the University of Bath.^[7]

References

1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Steph Cook". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
2. Whiteley MS, Cook SJ (May 2000). "The 'morbidity and mortality' meeting--no longer defensible as surgical audit". Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. 82 (5 Suppl): 168. PMID 10889783.
3. Cook SJ, Rocker MD, Jarvis MR, Whiteley MS (July 2000). "Patient outcome alone does not justify the centralisation of vascular services". Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. 82 (4): 268–71. PMC 2503500. PMID 10932662.
4. Rutherford EE, Kianifard B, Cook SJ, Holdstock JM, Whiteley MS (2001). "Incompetent Perforating Veins are Associated with Recurrent Varicose Veins". European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery. 21 (5): 458–460. doi:10.1053/ejvs.2001.1347. PMID 11352523.
5. BBC TV (February 2002). "This is Your Life – Stephanie Cook – BBC TV 2002". Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
6. "No. 56070". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 30 December 2000. p. 15.
7. "Honorary graduate – Dr Stephanie Cook". University of Bath. 27 June 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2016.

External links

• Stephanie Cook at UIPM (archive)