Cook Takes Indefinite Training Break

Rio Olympic silver medallist Tamsin Cook has taken an indefinite break from swimming and will focus her immediate sights on studies.

Cook announced this week in an interview with The West Australian newspaper that she intends to step away from the pool and study a Media and Communications course at University.

“My plans are just to focus on my university, focus on my goals in that area and have a normal life for a little while,” Cook said.

“I’ve been trying for a long time to get my head back into the game and I’ve just found over the last two years my priorities have shifted away from the pool.”

Cook enjoyed a stunning Olympic debut in 2016 as a 17 year-old, anchoring the Australian women’s 4x200m freestyle relay team to a famous silver medal.

Her performances in Rio earned her a second WAIS Junior Athlete of the Year title after she’d won dual Junior World Championship gold medals in 2015.

A neck complaint following a car accident late in 2017 hampered her hopes of competing at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and whilst the 19 year-old hasn’t ruled out a return to the sport, she conceded that right now swimming isn’t her main priority.

“The decision that I made was not because I don’t think I can do the work required, it’s more because it’s not my goal at the moment.”

You can read Tamsin’s full story in The West  here.