Cook is a five time Commonwealth Games medallist who has his eyes firmly set on glory at this summer's Olympic Games.

He joins some of the most illustrious names in Britain as part of the Samsung team, including David Beckham, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder and one of the most recognisable faces in the world of sport.

World and European champion equestrian competitor Zara Phillips (pictured second image down, left), the daughter of British Princess Anne and wife of English rugby star Mike Tindall, is also part of the Samsung Team.

"It is fantastic being part of Team Samsung," Cook told insidethegames.

"The exposure for fencing as well will be amazing, especially as it is looking at the youth of today, and with the youngsters in school who are fencing it can inspire them...to show them how far they can go with hard work and dedication."


Cook has benefited from Samsung's technology both during and out of competition time; using it to help research and get the edge on his opponents and to stay in touch with his wife and two children when away from home.

"I travel a lot, of course, from Europe, Asia and the Pan Americas as well and I have a family back home – two young kids, a boy and a girl, when I am away for a week at a time, it is good to be able to actually speak to them," he said of Samsung's Galaxy Note smartphone, which allows him to see them face-to-face on the other side of the world.

"It is just amazing to get that communication from the kids and that facial expression you do not get from speaking to them on the phone, so it is another way of keeping [in] touch even though I am away a lot from the family."

During competition time, he says: "With today's technology in the sport, especially fencing, it is always changing.

"Being able to analyse your performance with the phones and a quick video of your opponents if you are meeting them the next day or to be able to go over the technique is amazing, especially at the Olympics.



"When training [we can] video how we are performing...and if we want to see if we are doing something right, rather than go to a laptop, we can turn it [the smartphone] round and look on the video and up it comes.

"We can see if we are doing something right, something wrong – so information is at our fingertips."

Cook is keen to get youngsters interested in fencing, and has set up a company, Fencing Fun, which aims to increase participation in the sport among children of primary school age.

"The fastest thing at an Olympics is the bullet coming out of a gun," he says.

"The second fastest thing is the point of a fencing sword.

"Showing the kids how fast and dynamic the sport actually is captures their imagination.


"It is [about] inspiring them to get into the sport and if they work hard hopefully they can be Olympians themselves."

One of only two ever Scottish winners of the British Championships, men's foil competitor Cook has yet to qualify for this summer's Olympics, and will find out closer to the start of the Games whether he is one of the four male competitors going to London to represent the hosts.

"[British] fencing has not won a medal since 1964," he declares.

"For every athlete in the Olympics the pinnacle of our goals, our dreams, is to lift that Olympic gold medal – that is what we are aiming to do and we will be doing it.

"It has been a really good journey leading up to the Olympics and I'm confident we will be bringing back medals.

"It is gold all the way for me!"

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