BIOGRAPHY:
Five-time U.S. champion and ex-gymnast Emily Cook grew up in suburban Boston and never let go of a dream to compete in the Olympics. Sidelined by injury after making the 2002 Olympic Team, Cook missed two World Cup seasons while rehabilitating her badly injured feet, but returned in the summer of 2004, competed in the winter of 2005 (making the World Championships team) and reached her first Olympic Games in 2006 in Italy. She battled back again in 2010 to earn her second trip to the Olympics (11th place) after missing the last two World Cup qualifiers with a deeply bruised heel. With back-to-back national titles in 2010 and 2011 and her second career World Cup win snatched last season, Cook comes into her 14th season on the U.S. Ski Team experienced yet hungry.

EMILY SAYS:
I loved the 2011 season. With it being a post-Olympic season, I took a different approach to training and competition than I have in the past, emphasizing having fun and taking the opportunity to make some significant changes to my jumping technically. On some days, these changes made the season a challenge as it takes time for change to become routine. However, by the end of the season these changes became natural and I found myself landing more and more sweet jumps and being rewarded for the work. Making progress and initiating change is what makes sport so much fun, and the reward of being on the top of a World Cup podium again in Moscow made it even more exciting. That win in Moscow was certainly the highlight of the season. In every season, each event is very important, but especially in a season with no major events like Worlds or the Olympics. The focus this season will be consistency and continuing to make technical improvements and changes natural and routine. My goals for the season include consistently going into each event to win with the Grand Prix being a priority.

FIRST TRACKS:
Cook, whose mother died when she was two, skied at four and moved into freestyle at 14 as a member of the heralded Carrabassett Valley Academy program in Maine. A gymnast and diver as a youngster, she was a combined skier to start, as were most new freestylers at that time; her first World Cup action came as an acro skier before she honed-in on aerials. By 17, she had made the U.S. Ski Team and moved to Park City fulltime to train. She was on two Junior World Championships teams and earned her first World Championships berth in 1999. That same year, Cook was the aerials bronze medalist at the Junior Worlds in Finland.

OFF THE SNOW:
Emily plans to spend a lot of time at the water ramps this summer continuing to work especially on her double full full, as well as time in the gym and a lot of time on her bicycle. She also plans to complete her classes at the University of Utah.