He represented Great Britain in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where he reached the semi-final and was narrowly defeated in the bronze medal match.[1] He was controversially left out of the British team for the 2012 Olympic Games in London despite being the world no. 1-ranked competitor in the −80 kg division when the British Taekwondo Control Board selected Lutalo Muhammad (who was ranked world no. 59 in −80 kg and world no. 7 in −87 kg). Following this, Cook indicated he could no longer work with the governing authorities in Great Britain, and switched allegiance to the Isle of Man. This move to a non-Olympic nation ostensibly allowed Cook to achieve qualification for the 2016 Summer Olympics for Great Britain, the country for which Isle of Man athletes participate at the Olympics.

He represented the Isle of Man in international tournaments from February 2013 until 2015 when following further discussions with the Great Britain authorities, Cook sought and obtained Moldovan citizenship and announced that he would compete for Moldova. At the 2015 World Taekwondo Championships, Cook represented his new country for the first time, losing to former Great Britain teammate Damon Samsum in the semi-final. Despite this, Cook won the bronze medal in his weight category, his first medal in a World Championship.

Cook has not won a tournament gold medal since 2015, but took home the silver in the 2018 European Taekwondo Championships in Kazan in the 80 kg weight category.

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