Former World and European Champion returning to Bath as Pentathlon GB appoint new Head of Performance and CEO

Double Olympian Jamie Cooke, who became World and European modern pentathlon champion while training at the University of Bath, is returning to Pentathlon GB as its new Head of Performance.
Will Brown is also joining the National Governing Body as Chief Executive Officer at the start of the LA 2028 Olympic cycle and a new era for the sport as it transitions from horse riding to obstacle course racing (OCR).
Cooke, who competed at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, spent 14 years as an athlete at the Team Bath Sports Training Village (STV), during which time he became the first British man to win World Cup Final gold, in 2016, before claiming the World Championships title in thrilling fashion two years later. He was also crowned as European Champion on home soil when the University hosted the event in 2019.
After retiring in 2022, he has worked with the Greek national team and as Head of Performance for Pentathlon Switzerland.
Cooke said: “Having been an athlete on the British programme, from the Talent Pathway through to competing at the Olympics, I’m incredibly proud to now lead the Performance Programme as we head into the LA Olympic cycle.
“I have learnt so much from being abroad, first with the Greek Team and more recently with Pentathlon Suisse. I’m now looking forward to working with the athletes, coaches and wider pentathlon community here in GB towards a successful future.”
Brown has spent 25 years working in and around sport, most recently spending over a decade as CEO of Gloucestershire Cricket. He remains a trustee of the West of England Sport Trust (Wesport) and Chair of the Gloucestershire Cricket Trust.
“It is a huge honour to be appointed as CEO of Pentathlon GB,” he said. “It is a sport that captured my imagination many years ago and one that I’m passionate about growing for the current generation of athletes and supporters and those that we can excite in the future.
“I’ve been lucky enough to meet so many of the fantastic team at Pentathlon GB in recent weeks and I can’t wait to join them all in January.”
The University of Bath has been home to Pentathlon GB’s National Training Centre since 1998. As well as fencing, swimming and laser-run, pentathletes are also now doing their obstacle course training at the STV following the recent opening of the OCR Elite Training Centre.
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