Bianca Cook, also known as Bianca Walkden [1] (born 29 September 1991), is an English taekwondo athlete and Olympian. She is three-times a World champion, twice World Grand Prix champion, four-times a European champion and a double Olympic medallist. [2] [3]
In 2014, Walkden became European champion for the first time with a 6–2 win over Olga Ivanova in Baku. [4]
In May 2015, she won a gold medal in the +73kg category at the 2015 World Taekwondo Championships in Russia, triumphing over Gwladys Epangue in the final. She became only the second Briton to win a world title, after Sarah Stevenson, and the third to win a global title after Stevenson and Jade Jones. [5]
In the run-up to the 2016 Summer Olympics, Walkden became European champion again, defeating Nafia Kus 5–4 in Montreux. [6] At the games, Walkden was defeated by Zheng Shuyin by a golden-point in the semi-finals, but she then overcame Wiam Dislam 7–1 to secure a bronze medal. [7]
In June 2017, Walkden successfully defended her world title in Muju, South Korea during the World Championships. She beat American Jackie Galloway 14–4 in the heavyweight division. Victory meant she became the first Briton to successfully defend a World taekwondo title. [8] Walkden then became the first ever competitor to win gold medals at all four World Grand Prix events in the same year. She won the first three meetings in Moscow, Rabat and London, [9] [10] before overcoming Lee Da-bin 16–9 in the final round in Côte d'Ivoire to seal the feat. [11] In December, Walkden achieved victory at the Grand Slam Series in China, overcoming Galloway 10–2 in the final, which earned her a record £52,000 prize. [12]
Walkden was defeated by Kowalczuk in the final of the 2018 European championships in Kazan. It was her first defeat in the heavyweight division in over a year, having won her previous nine tournaments. [13]
In May 2019, at the 2019 World Taekwondo Championships, Walkden won the women's heavyweight title after Zheng was disqualified after attaining a 20–10 lead. Faced with Zheng's subsequent inactivity, Walkden adopted the tactic of repeatedly forcing her opponent out of the ring to raise her penalty points from seven to ten, an automatic disqualification. This resulted in boos during the result announcement and medal presentation, when Zheng fell to her knees. [14] Walkden defended her tactics, saying: "I went out there needing to find a different way to win and a win is a win if you disqualify someone - it's not my fault." [15]
In September 2019, at Chiba, Walkden was defeated 7-5 by Zheng Shuyin in the World Grand Prix. [16] In October, at the World Grand Prix event in Sofia, Zheng Shuyin defeated Walkden by 3–2. [17]
In 2021, she won the gold medal in the women's +73 kg event at the 2021 European Taekwondo Championships held in Sofia. [18] [19] At the delayed Taekwondo at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Walkden suffered a narrow 24–25 defeat to Lee Da-bin, costing her a chance to compete in the gold medal contest. She then competed in the repechage, bouncing back to claim a bronze medal, with a 7–3 triumph over Kowalczuk. It was her second Olympic bronze medal, to go with the one she secured in Rio de Janeiro. [20]
In 2022, Walkden became European champion for a fourth time, securing a 14–3 victory over Aleksandra Kowalczuk in Manchester. [21]
At the 2023 World Championships, she finished with a bronze medal after a semi-finals defeat to Svetlana Osipova. [22]
She was overlooked for selection by GB Taekwondo for the 2024 Summer Olympics, a decision that left her feeling "devastated" and "let down". Rebecca McGowan was chosen ahead of her due to her better ranking. Walkden had been world number one from 2016– 2023, before missing several events with injury, and she wanted to have a fight-off with McGowan to decide selection, but the GB Taekwondo disagreed, feeling McGowan had the better chance of winning a medal. [23]
She has been in a relationship with fellow taekwondo fighter Aaron Cook since 2008, and the pair married at a cermeony in Italy in 2022. [24] She once lived with international teammate Jade Jones, who is a close friend. [3]
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