Eileen O'Keeffe (born 31 May 1981 in

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

) is a former female hammer thrower from Ireland. Her personal best throw of 73.21 metres, achieved in July 2007 at the national championships in Dublin, is the Irish record for the event. Over her career, she represented Ireland at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

, competed three times at the World Championships in Athletics (2005, 2007, 2009), and took part in the European Athletics Championships on two occasions. She won nine consecutive national hammer titles and also six titles in the discus throw.Irish hammer thrower Eileen O'Keeffe retires

European Athletics The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. European Athletics has 51 ...

(2011-05-26). Retrieved on 2011-05-29. She finished fourth at the

2003 Summer Universiade The 2003 Summer Universiade, also known as the XXII Summer Universiade, took place in Daegu, South Korea. Emblem * The alphabet letter "U" and five stars, which is FISU's emblem, make up the basis of the emblem for the Daegu Universiade. * It sym ...

, sixth at the

2005 Summer Universiade The 2005 Summer Universiade, also known as the XXIII Summer Universiade, took place in İzmir, Turkey, in August. Emblem The emblem is the letter “U”, inspired by the bird's-eye view of the Gulf of İzmir. This shape has perfectly fit the lett ...

, won the silver medal at the 2007 Summer Universiade and finished sixth at the 2007 World Championships. She also competed at the 2002 European Championships, the 2005 World Championships, the 2006 European Championships and the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

without reaching the final. In a January 2008 interview on

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

's ''The Panel'', O'Keeffe said that she learned the sport from a

Hal Connolly Harold Vincent "Hal" Connolly (August 1, 1931 – August 18, 2010) was an American athlete and hammer thrower from Somerville, Massachusetts. He won a gold medal in the hammer throw at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Connolly became t ...

DVD her brother bought from a pound shop. She retired from competition in 2011 at the age of 29, having failed to return to form following a serious knee injury.

Competition record

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Okeeffe, Eileen Living people 1981 births Athletes from County Kilkenny Irish female hammer throwers Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Ireland World Athletics Championships athletes for Ireland Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade silver medalists for Ireland Competitors at the 2003 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 2005 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 2009 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2007 Summer Universiade AAA Championships winners