Cooper Gough the taekwondo star

Congratulations are in order for one of our past Diabetes New Zealand Award winners – Cooper Gough.

In 2022, Cooper won our John McLaren Youth Award for sports, and his success in his sport of taekwondo has carried on rising since then.

This year, he was selected to be in the Junior Worlds training squad and in August, took part in the New Zealand world championships where he won the National title in the Junior Black Belt weight division.

Cooper Gough and his medals, at the taekwondo New Zealand championships 2024

As a result, Cooper was picked to represent New Zealand in the World Taekwondo Championships, which were held in South Korea this year.

We asked Cooper for his thoughts on the fact that funding is now available (as on 1 October 2024) for people living with type 1 diabetes in New Zealand and he said:

“It’s a great decision by the Government to fund CGMs. It may seem a huge cost initially, however it will enable New Zealanders to manage type 1 diabetes better, which will save money in the health sector long term.”

“I am really happy as they are a huge ongoing expense for my family,” he added.

“CGMs have made my life more manageable and I wouldn’t be able to compete at such a high level in my sport without them.”