A Co Tyrone teen has his eyes set on weightlifting success in Northern Ireland and beyond as he currently chases records set by boys three years his superior.
Louis Eastwood from Cookstown is just 14 and only took up the sport as a hobby during the pandemic, but competed in the Northern Ireland Open at the weekend after his talent was spotted by a local coach and former world champion.
He has been selected to join the NI Powerlifting team for the Commonwealth championships in New Zealand this year, and mum Kelly Eastwood says the whole family are proud of his achievements, but also his dedication.
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“Both myself and his dad, Bill are so immensely proud of him, and we tell him that all the time. He is totally focused and 100% dedicated,” Kelly told MyTyrone.
“Louis is 14 now and since he was 7 he was a member of the Cookstown Boxing Club and he really enjoyed that.
“When the pandemic hit and sports clubs had to close, he was still quite keen to keep up his fitness and got into weightlifting at home.
“He discovered that he really enjoyed it and then when gyms started to open back up again he got involved with a few others down at his local gym.
“From there he started into doing rookie competitions, we didn’t understand or realise even how passionate he was about it.
“Randall saw Louis and said he had something special, so he would mentor him and train him. He’s done that over the last year and they train four or five times a week.”
In powerlifting competitions, the competitors focus on three lifts - bench press, squat and deadlift - with the latter being Louis’ specialty.
The Northern Ireland record for his age group for the lift is 162 kilos, something Louis bettered at a competition earlier this year, albeit on an unofficial basis
A remarkable feat considering the St Mary’s Magherafelt student is three years younger than many of the others he competes against.
“You’ve all the concerns in the world about all the bad things they could be getting into, so when we realised what Louis was getting into was his health, his fitness, we were absolutely over the moon,” his mum added.
“He’s more disciplined than I ever thought he would be. We went up to the North Coast for three weeks for our holidays this summer and Louis got the bus back down to Cookstown four times a week so he didn’t miss one single training session.
“It was almost two hours of a bus journey each way, that dedication still blows me away.”
Louis himself says that it’s more than just the dedication and commitment involved, he enjoys being part of the powerlifting community locally and hopes one day to get to the World Championships.
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“Combined with the overall enjoyment of lifting and seeing the increases in my strength and ability, I enjoy the aspect of competition involved,” Louis said.
“Since I started competing I have met many new friends within the powerlifting community. It’s not your typical competition, the camaraderie within the sport is huge, everyone is always cheering each other on and supporting one another.
“Within my sport the goal is the British Championships next year, and I would love to ultimately get to the World Championships, breaking more records and taking a few titles with me.”
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