Bianca Cook on chasing taekwondo history: “I am addicted to winning”
The two-time Olympic medallist reveals to Olympics.com that she's motivated to compete and fight for an unprecedented fourth world title in Baku.
Taekwondo
Taekwondo's star Bianca Cook knows exactly how she wants to cap off her career.
This week at the 2023 World Championships in Baku, the top-ranked athlete in the +73kg class has a chance to fulfill one of her biggest goals: securing an unprecedented fourth World title.
Furthemore, earning Olympic qualifying points for Paris 2024 holds equal importance for the Brit, as she hopes to conclude her illustrious Olympic career at the Olympic Games with an elusive gold medal.
“I never ever thought of all these titles. I always just want to be the best in the moment,” she said in an interview with Olympics.com just before she wrapped up her training for the event in Baku.
“I have done really good and I'm proud of what I've done. So, the chance to go there and try for it (fourth World title) gives me motivation. If I could make history and become the first one to win four, then it'll amazing. I'll give everything I can to do that.”
Cook is one of 11 GB taekwondo athletes competing in Azerbaijan.
She has previously claimed consecutive gold medals in Chelyabinsk, Muju, and Manchester, but missed the 2022 World Championships in Guadalajara due to injury.
“I would be happy to just leave with what I've got because I've done so well already. Now every time I go forward is all just a bonus, and hopefully I can just keep adding and adding more bonuses… and it would be magical for me to end the story with an Olympic gold medal.”
Bianca Cook's next career goals: 'History at the World Championships and Olympic gold'
Team GB's taekwondo hero has consistently delivered her best performances when it matters most.
Starting as a highly accomplished junior who won world youth silver and European bronze as a teenager, she swiftly progressed through the ranks with even greater success.
By 2011, she had gained widespread recognition as one of the best taekwondo fighters, having claimed victory at the British Open four times and competed twice at the World Championships.
And during her fifth World Championships she was the woman to beat in the highly competitive +73 weight class.
Cook, formerly known as Walkden, boasts an outstanding record at the world championships, remaining unbeaten on the global stage since her triumph in 2015.
In 2017, she achieved another remarkable milestone by becoming the first taekwondo athlete to win all four Grand Prix events in her category within a single season.
Even after 16 years, her hunger for further glory remains insatiable.
“My goals this year is to go to the world championships, hopefully come back with a gold medal and history,” she said in a recent interview with Olympics.com
“Then the rest of it is to do my best and keep getting ranking points to stay world number one and qualify for Paris Olympics next year.”
At 31 years old, she is tied with Spanish athlete Brigitte Yague and the South Korean pair of Cho Hyang-mi and Jung Myoung-sook, each holding three world titles.
Bianca Cook: 'I've still got another 15 months left to give everything I've got'
How has she managed to stay motivated for the last 16 years?
“When you have been in a career for so long, being open-minded that no matter what, you can still improve physically, mentally.
“Coming out with an open mind, has given me space to grow and try and improve as a person, as an athlete. So, each day, each year I train, each month, it all adds up to being the best version of myself when I go out there.”
However, the journey has not always been smooth for the athlete from Liverpool.
She entered the Rio 2016 Olympics as one of the favourites but was eliminated in the semi-finals by People's Republic of China’s Shuyin Lee.
At Tokyo 2020, during her second Olympics, she secured another bronze medal but suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the +67kg semi-finals. Despite having a two-point lead with only three seconds remaining, she experienced a devastating last-second loss to South Korea's Lee Da-bin.
“For me, not coming back with a gold medal was like a failure,” she confessed.
“Some people would be over the moon with a medal, and I have achieved two Olympic medals. To say that I'm still not fully satisfied people are like, ‘Why you've done so well!’
“I've already done everything else. I've won everything else before, and I'm world number one, I'm world champion, European champion, I've won these big competitions. It’s like the last thing I need to just tick off and complete my career. I know I could do it. I know I can be there.” Bianca Cook on winning an Olympic gold.
Cook, who married her long-time partner Aaron Cook, a retired taekwondo athlete, in 2022, has meticulously planned the final chapter of her career on the mat as she targets another world title in Baku and a fairy tale ending in Paris.
A record ending at her last worlds in Baku and a fairy tale crowning in Paris.
However, she openly acknowledges that the demanding training regimen is starting to take its toll.
"The physical side it's getting a bit hard. Like day in, day out training and give it my absolute all, all the time. I have been doing it at a high, high level for 16 years. And the way I train, I train 100% every time. I think that bit it's trying to try to creep in a little bit, but I've still got another 15 months left to give everything I've got.”
Bianca Cook: An MMA fight?
For now, her mind is fully focused on the mat; only after that can she start contemplating life after taekwondo.
"I wouldn't mind going into (TV) presenting or owning my own gym like a sports complex," she said of her long term plans after Paris.
The five-time European gold medallist has even considered a future transition to mixed martial arts (MMA).
"A lot of people ask me if I would go into UFC whether I would try it..but I know how much I have to give that fight. But if I got offered the odd fight, I would try it, but to make it as a massive career path and change, would be years again on my life...but I could have one fight."