Billy Cooke (weightlifter)
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British (Northern Irish) |
| Born | c.1933[1] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Weightlifting |
Event | Middleweight |
| Club | Belfast Health Studios |
Billy Cooke (born c.1933) is a former weightlifter and strongman from Northern Ireland, who represented Northern Ireland at the British Empire and Commmonwealth Games (now Commonwealth Games).
Biography
Cooke was a member of the Belfast Health Studios and at the 1958 All-Ireland championships, he won the Senior Mr Ireland title.[2]
Cooke represented the 1958 Northern Irish Team[3] at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales,[4] participating in the 75kg middleweight.[5]
After the Games in November 1958, Cooke retained his middleweight title at the Irish Weightlifting Championships.[6] In 1959 he finished runner-up in the Mr Great Britain competition and in June 1959, he left Belfast to take an appointment in Bermuda, where he would work as a physical training instructor in a prison.[1]
A winner of his class at the Mr Universe in Montreal, he returned home to Belfast in June 1961.[7] He had a long-time association with Buster McShane, one of Ireland's best known strongman.[8]
References
- ^ a b "Billy Cooke Off To Bermuda". Belfast Telegraph. 30 June 1959. p. 12. Retrieved 14 November 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Disappointing day for Ulster weight-lifters". Northern Whig. 2 June 1958. p. 7. Retrieved 14 November 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Northern Ireland Cardiff 1958". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
- ^ "N.I. Empire Games Choices". Northern Whig. 28 May 1958. p. 5. Retrieved 14 November 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Weightlifting 75kg Combined - Men Cardiff 1958". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Ulstermen lift three Irish titles". Belfast Telegraph. 17 November 1958. p. 14. Retrieved 14 November 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Billy Cooke coming home". Ireland's Saturday Night. 15 April 1961. p. 5. Retrieved 14 November 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Billy Cooke coming home". Belfast Telegraph. 16 September 1961. p. 10. Retrieved 14 November 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.