COOKE James

General
RUGBY COACH
In 2017 he started working with England rugby player Jonny Wilkinson's kicking coach Dave Alred. "I was reading Sir Clive Woodward's [former England rugby union coach] book, 'Winning!', which made regular references to this guy called Dave Alred. This was at a time when I'd lost my mojo in shooting a bit, and I always thought goal-kicking in rugby was very similar to shooting. I asked Dave to come along and help, and he really changed my whole perception on pressure, how to handle it and how to put yourself under pressure in training. It's not just Dave, as there are a whole network of coaches around me that help, but his influence definitely helped in making me world champion in 2018. The way he phrases things is something I really admire, so I take a lot away from him and still work with him now, to be the best person I can be." (teamgb.com, 10 Jun 2020)

GOLD MEDAL DEDICATION
He became the second British male modern pentathlete to win an individual world title when he claimed gold at the 2018 World Championships in Mexico City, Mexico, 25 years after Richard Phelps won Great Britain's first world title for a male in 1993. He dedicated the medal to his grandfather, who passed away just before the competition. "I was really struggling on the last lap and unfortunately my grandad died last week, so that [win] was for him." (bbc.com, 13 Sep 2018)

VERTIGO
Since childhood he has suffered from a condition named non-positional vertigo that can affect his balance. The condition can strike at any time, and did so the day before his European championship final in 2018, meaning he couldn't compete. "The whole world was spinning so I got into a dark room and tried to sleep it off. But I woke up the next morning and was still dizzy. I warmed up in the pool, but I was bumping into the lane rope because I couldn't control where I was going. I was sat poolside before the race started, but eventually the performance director pulled me out because I couldn't stand up." (telegraph.co.uk, 25 Dec 2018)

In 2016 he became the first British male modern pentathlete to win gold at a World Cup Final, with victory at the 2016 event in Sarasota, FL, United States of America. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Feb 2020; bbc.co.uk, 08 May 2016)

In 2011 he became the first man to complete the 200m swimming portion of the modern pentathlon in under 1:50. He swam a 1:49:59 to break his own short course modern pentathlon world record at the 2011 European Championships in Medway, England. (pentathlon.org, 04 Jun 2019)