Nicky Cooney
{{short description|New Zealand diver and police officer (born 1966)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Nicky Cooney
| image =
| caption =
| sport = Diving
| event =
| club =
| coach =
| birth_name = Nicola Val Cooney
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1966}}
| birth_place = Rotorua, New Zealand
| death_date =
| death_place =
| height =
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| nationals =
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport|Women's diving}}
{{MedalCountry | {{NZL}} }}
{{MedalCompetition|Commonwealth Games}}
{{MedalBronze| 1990 Auckland | 3 m springboard}}
}}
Nicola Val Cooney (former married name Riordan; born 1966) is a New Zealand police officer and former diver. She represented her country at the 1986 and 1990 Commonwealth Games, winning a bronze medal at the latter. Since 2023, Cooney has been the Eastern Bay of Plenty area commander in the New Zealand Police.
Early life and family
Cooney was born in Rotorua in 1966, the daughter of Val and Denis Cooney. Her mother was a physical education teacher and her father owned a septic-tank company. She took up diving when she was eleven years old. She began her secondary education at Rotorua Girls' High School, but later became a boarder at Waikato Diocesan School in Hamilton to be able to train daily at the deep-water pool at the University of Waikato.{{cite news |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/our-people-nicky-riordan/TRAAVOQ22EW3KE57RLMOX2MQLY/ |title=Our people: Nicky Riordan |first=Jill |last=Nicholas |date=30 July 2016 |work=Rotorua Daily Post |access-date=17 September 2024}}
Diving
In 1982, Cooney was selected for the diving squad as part the New Zealand schools swimming team that competed at the Pacific Schools Games in Brisbane.{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19820510.2.27 |title=N.Z. schools' swimming team |date=10 May 1982 |work=The Press |page=3 |access-date=17 September 2024 |via=PapersPast}}
At the 1983 New Zealand national diving championships, Cooney finished second in both the women's open one-metre springboard and women's open tower events,{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19830310.2.59 |title=Diver's three titles |date=10 March 1983 |work=The Press |page=6 |access-date=17 September 2024 |via=PapersPast}}{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19830314.2.131.1 |title=Pride intact despite Australian sweep |date=14 March 1983 |work=The Press |page=22 |access-date=17 September 2024 |via=PapersPast}} and won the Hansells Trophy for the highest-scoring individual dive by an age-group competitor.{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19830314.2.131.2 |title=Championship trophies |date=14 March 1983 |page=22 |access-date=17 September 2024 |via=PapersPast}} She was subsequently named in the 15-strong New Zealand team to compete at the world age-group championships held in Hamilton later that year,{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19830523.2.166 |title=N.Z. diving team named |date=23 March 1983 |page=32 |access-date=17 September 2024 |via=PapersPast}} where she placed eighth in the 15–17 girls' one-metre springboard competition.{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19830816.2.55 |title=N.Z. diver wins bronze medal |date=16 August 1983 |page=8 |access-date=17 September 2024 |via=PapersPast}}
In 1984, Cooney reached the qualification standard for the 1984 Olympic Games, but was not selected for the New Zealand team. However, she began competing on the North American diving circuit during the Northern Hemisphere summer. In early 1985, she was part of the four-person New Zealand team that competed in Australia at the Australia Day diving competition and at the Australia Games.{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19850124.2.135.2 |title=Diving team chosen |date=24 January 1985 |page=32 |access-date=17 September 2024 |via=PapersPast}} In March that year, Cooney won the women's three-metre and tower titles at the New Zealand diving championships, and was runner-up in the women's one-metre springboard event.{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19850312.2.146 |title=Vallance in command |date=12 March 1985 |page=38 |access-date=17 September 2024 |via=PapersPast}}{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19850314.2.180 |title=Cooney wins diving duel |date=14 March 1985 |page=44 |access-date=17 September 2024 |via=PapersPast}}
In early 1986, Cooney was a member of the New Zealand team at the Southern Cross international diving series in Australia.{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19860122.2.234.2 |title=Diving team named |date=22 January 1986 |page=68 |access-date=17 September 2024 |via=PapersPast}} At the New Zealand championships in March that year, she was injured while competing in the women's platform event and had to withdraw from the event.{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19860312.2.54 |title=National diving championships |date=12 March 1986 |page=8 |access-date=17 September 2024 |via=PapersPast}} However, she recovered to win the three-metre springboard title.{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19860317.2.125.2 |title=Unruffled Vallance takes three-metre diving title |date=17 March 1986 |page=23 |access-date=17 September 2024 |via=PapersPast}} Later that year, Cooney competed in the three-metre springboard at the 1986 Commonwealth Games, finishing fifth with a score of 469.62, a New Zealand record score for the event, surpassing the record previously held by Ann Fargher.{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19860801.2.54.2 |title=N.Z. diving pair put in top performances |date=1 August 1986 |page=7 |access-date=17 September 2024 |via=PapersPast}}{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19860801.2.57 |title=Incessant rain nightmare for Scots cycling officials |date=1 August 1986 |page=8 |access-date=17 September 2024 |via=PapersPast}}
In 1987, Cooney retained her national three-metre springboard title,{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19870323.2.121 |title=Individual records fall at championships |date=23 March 1987 |page=25 |access-date=17 September 2024 |via=PapersPast}} and the following year she was again overlooked for selection to represent New Zealand at the 1988 Summer Olympics. In 1989, she competed at the FINA Diving World Cup in Indianapolis.{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19890420.2.137.9 |title=Chinese help for divers |date=20 April 1989 |page=33 |access-date=17 September 2024 |via=PapersPast}}
At the 1990 Commonwealth Games held in Auckland, Cooney competed in the women's one-metre springboard, in which she finished in eighth place, and the three-metre springboard event where she won the bronze medal.{{cite web |url=https://olympic.org.nz/athletes/nicky-cooney |title=Nicky Cooney |website=Olympic.org.nz |publisher=New Zealand Olympic Committee}} Also in 1990, Cooney was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Alister |last2=Coddington |first2=Deborah |author-link1=Alister Taylor |author-link2=Deborah Coddington |title=Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand |year=1994 |publisher=New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa |location=Auckland |isbn=0-908578-34-2 |page=106}}
Police career
In 1990, Cooney joined the New Zealand Police, and undertook a range of duties, including frontline and road policing.{{cite news |url=https://www.police.govt.nz/news/ten-one-magazine/job-worth-waiting |title=A job worth waiting for |date=15 September 2023 |work=Ten One Magazine |access-date=17 September 2023}} After taking a six-year break from the police, she returned and became head of the road policing team in Rotorua, before serving in various managerial roles at district headquarters. In 2023, Cooney was appointed Eastern Bay of Plenty area commander.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{1986 New Zealand Commonwealth Games team}}
{{1990 New Zealand Commonwealth Games team}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooney, Nicky}}
Category:Sportspeople from Rotorua
Category:Commonwealth Games competitors for New Zealand
Category:Divers at the 1986 Commonwealth Games
Category:Divers at the 1990 Commonwealth Games
Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand
Category:Medallists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games
Category:Commonwealth Games medallists in diving
Category:New Zealand police officers