Cooper's story

Back in 2022, Cooper Gough won the John McLaren Youth Award for Sport after representing New Zealand at the Oceania Taekwondo Championships in Tahiti, taking home Gold in the Tahiti Open, Silver in the Oceania Championships and Bronze in the Presidents Cup.

Cooper tells us he felt extremely privileged to have won the John McLaren Youth Award and this gave him a huge boost.

Since then, Cooper hasn't slowed down. Now 17 and a 2nd Dan Black Belt, he was selected for the New Zealand National Taekwondo Team this year, competing at the Oceania Championships in Sydney (where he won Bronze in the Junior Male Under 51kg category).

Cooper was also selected as a member of the New Zealand National Taekwondo Team to compete in the Junior Male Under 51kg weight category at the Taekwondo Junior World Championships, held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in April 2026. He advanced to the 1/16 Final where he was beaten by a fighter from Senegal.

Cooper shares, “Prior to the World Championships my teammates and I had the incredible opportunity to attend a weeklong training camp with Uzbekistan’s top coaches and world medallists, the experience and fitness gained from this camp was invaluable.”

Living with type 1 diabetes hasn't held Cooper back from competing on the world stage. We're so proud to see him continuing to shine, and we love following his journey each year.

Read more about Cooper in his previous article when he won the John McClaren Youth Award.

WT World Junior Championships, Tashkent 2026

Claire Meirelles4 August 2026