ban from all competitions. The British Wrestling Association anti-doping policy would mean that no final positions were amended however the athlete who had failed the test was removed from the official results effectively moving Cocker to second in the final standings (behind the athlete he had previously defeated by points superiority in the 2014 British Closed Championships). In January 2015, after a successful complaint and mediation process with the British Wrestling Association, Cocker received an apology from the National Governing Body for any confusion or distress they had caused him due to a failure to follow its own anti-doping policy following the violation at the 2014 British Championships. The 2017 British Open Wrestling Championships On 4 November 2017 after a three and a half year absence from competition, Cocker entered the 2017 British Open Wrestling Championships held in Nottingham. The event was also the final 2018 Commonwealth Games qualifier. Cocker, at 35 years old was an eligible 'Masters' age category competitor, but competed in the 125 kg senior open age category. Cocker won all his matches by either points superiority or pin. Cocker secured notable wins over Mandhir Kooner (Commonwealth Games bronze medallist) and Richard Tuke, suplexing and pinning his opponent in the final bout. The competition was reported to be Cocker's final open age category entry. Achievements on return to competition International results Teacher Mark Cocker was an Assistant & Deputy Headteacher at Sale High School, Manchester. In January 2016 he moved to Pleckgate High School, Blackburn as Headteacher. In January 2019, Pleckgate High School was rated as outstanding by Ofsted in all categories. Documentary In 2002, Cocker was part of a documentary 'Catch – The Hold Not Taken' that was created to investigate the roots of different styles of wrestling such as freestyle and Catch wrestling, and how wrestling has evolved over the decades. The documentary starred Cocker alongside UFC veteran Dan Severn and Olympic Gold Medallist Dan Gable. Elite Athlete Coaching Cocker is an accredited UKCC level 2 coach, predominantly coaching wrestling to elite wrestlers and mixed martial artists. Notable athlete associations include UFC competitor, BAMMA world champion and KSW world champion Scott Askham and BAMMA world champion and UFC competitor Marc Diakiese who have both trained with Cocker. Cocker has also coached the 2019 & 2022 British Freestyle Wrestling champion at 97 kg, Ash Roden. References Living people 1982 births British male sport wrestlers English male