Emily Cook
Freestyle Skiing - Aerials
2006 Olympian
2010 Olympic hopeful
Personal Specs
Height: 5'3"
Short List Performance
- 2006 Olympic Winter Games - 19th
- 2009 World Championships - fourth
- 2007 World Championships - sixth
- 2005 World Championships - seventh
- 2001 World Championships - 13th
- 1999 World Championships - 18th
Vancouver Watch
Cook has steadily improved her standing among world-class aerialists in the last 10 years, as shown by her ascension at World Championships and three season-ending top 10s in World Cup standings since 2006. With a fourth-place finish at the 2009 World Championships, Cook is finally on the cusp of her first major international medal. No American woman has won an Olympic aerials medal since Nikki Stone took gold in 1998.
Personal
After her mother passed away when Cook was 2, she began skiing at 4 and chose freestyle at 14 while at the Carrabassett Valley Academy in Maine. She also was a gymnast and a diver growing up. Cook made the U.S. Ski Team at 17 and the World Championships team at 19. She qualified for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games but broke and tore ligaments in both feet during training two weeks before the Opening Ceremony. She didn't return to competition for three years.
Her hobbies include reading, SCUBA, fly fishing, rock climbing and yoga. Cook is a supporter of Right to Play and, while injured in 2002, founded the "Visa Champions Creating Champions" mentoring program, which brings winter Olympians from many sports to work with youngsters in their communities.
Did You Know...?
- Watched the 2002 Olympic aerials competition in her then-hometown of Park City while in a wheelchair, donning a red, white and blue cast complete with stars