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Cook hopes 2002 berth is 'dream come true'
U.S. aerialist looks to extend break-out season
By Amy Donaldson
Deseret News sports writer
PARK CITY — Emily Cook set a goal as a young teenager to represent the United States in the Olympic Winter Games. As a 13-year-old, she hoped to make the 2002 Olympic team.
Maybe it was a youthful dream then, but Cook's hard work and determination have made it a real possibility — even an expectation.
In just one year, the 22-year-old Boston native went from the U.S. Freestyle Ski team's C-team to the U.S. Women's Aerials champion. She came off of a mediocre, injury-plagued year two seasons ago to place in the top 10 five times in World Cup competitions last year. That includes a third-place finish at Deer Valley, the site of the 2002 Games' aerial competition in February.
"Last year was definitely a break-out season for me," she said. "The premise during training was a new mentality from me, initiated by the coaches. That was if you want to be the best in the world, you have to train like it. I did a ton more jumps every day. This is really the only thing I'm doing."
In addition to more practice, Cook began a weight-training program initiated by aerials coach Matt Christensen. She said the extra attention from her coaches and her dedication have taken her to new heights — literally. She's added difficulty to her tricks over the summer, and everyone expects her to help the U.S. women achieve the kind of success the men have known for years.
Cook is predicting an exceptional year for the women of the U.S. freestyle team. At a Olympic media gathering two weeks ago, she said, "I think we may surprise a couple of people."
In addition to the support of her coaches, Cook credits her father, Don, in helping her achieve success.
Don Cook remembers his only child setting the goal to go to the Olympics this winter, well before it was decided they would be held in Utah. He didn't dismiss it as a teenager's fantasy; instead, he did the same thing he's been doing since he gave her skis for Christmas when she was just four.
"Any opportunity she saw in front of herself, I encouraged her that if you believe strongly enough, it's possible," he said. "Most of the goals she's put in front herself, she achieved."
Emily Cook said her father has been her biggest fan and strongest supporter in everything she's undertaken. He signed her up for both gymnastics and skiing before she even started school and never missed her soccer games. The father and daughter have an especially close relationship, in part because of a tragic loss they shared when Emily was 2.
Her mother, Anita, was seriously injured in an accident caused by a drunken driver. She was in a coma for two years and died when Emily was 4, with the daughter having no recollection of her mother, just photographs and memories shared by relatives.
"They say there is a lot of her in me, and that definitely makes me happy," Cook said. "There have been times when I wished she'd been there to see what I'm doing, and when I wonder what she'd think. But my dad and I have gained an amazing relationship."
She said she asked some questions growing up — but not a lot because she saw how much it hurt her family. It has made her the voice of caution and reason as she warns people not to drink and drive.
"I just don't want anyone else to get hurt that way," she said.
Her early loss didn't slow her down much, and both she and her father say she's always been a daredevil of sorts, seemingly a requirement for a successful freestyle skier.
"I was one of those kids who was always doing stupid things," she said, "like wearing roller skates while riding my bike, or doing cartwheels on the ice."
Her sense of adventure is one of the reasons her father signed her up for sports at such a young age.
"She had a propensity to bounce around the house," he said. "She was very active, and gymnastics seemed to be a very good outlet for that. She wanted to do it, and she embraced it wholeheartedly."
In that very ordinary beginning, her father had his own dream and hope for her journey in sports.
"I wanted to allow her to find her place in whatever she did . . . and for me not to define her," he said. "As long as she's happy . . .
"It has always been my advice to her to go out and have fun. When it stops being fun, then it's time to reassess."
E-MAIL: adonaldson@desnews.com
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November 9, 2001
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