Eileen O'Keefe is a former female hammer throw

Hammer throw

The modern or Olympic hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name "hammer throw" is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown...

er from Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. Her personal best throw of 73.21 metres, achieved in July 2007 at the national championships in Dublin, is the Irish record

Irish records in athletics

The following are the national records in athletics in Ireland maintained by Athletics Association of Ireland .-Men:-Women:-Men:-Women:+ = en route to a longer distanceA = affected by altitudea = aided road course according to IAAF rule 260.28...

 for the event. Over her career she represented Ireland at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 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

Discus throw

The discus throw is an event in track and field athletics competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as evidenced by the 5th century BC Myron statue, Discobolus...

.

She finished fourth at the 2003 Summer Universiade

Athletics at the 2003 Summer Universiade

The athletics competition at the 2003 Summer Universiade was held on the Daegu World Cup Stadium in Daegu, South Korea, between 25 August and 30 August 2003.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medal table:-References:* - GBR Athletics...

, sixth at the 2005 Summer Universiade

Athletics at the 2005 Summer Universiade

The athletics competition in the 2005 Summer Universiade was held on the İzmir Atatürk Stadyumu in İzmir, Turkey, between 15 August and 20 August 2005.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medal table:-References:* - GBR Athletics* - GBR Athletics* - FIBU...

, won the silver medal at the 2007 Summer Universiade

Athletics at the 2007 Summer Universiade

The athletics competition at the 2007 Summer Universiade was held in the Main Stadium at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, between 9 August and 14 August 2007.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medals table:-Results:******...

 and finished sixth at the 2007 World Championships

2007 World Championships in Athletics

The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...

. She also competed at the 2002 European Championships

2002 European Championships in Athletics

The 18th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 August to 11 August 2002 in the Olympic Stadium of Munich, Germany.-Track:1994 |1998 |2002 |2006 |2010 |...

, the 2005 World Championships

2005 World Championships in Athletics

The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of...

, the 2006 European Championships

2006 European Championships in Athletics

The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit"...

 and the 2008 Olympic Games

Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Women's hammer throw

The Women's Hammer Throw event at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 18–20 August at the Beijing National Stadium.The qualifying standards were 69.50 m and 67.00 m .-Medalists:-Schedule:...

 without reaching the final.

In a January 2008 interview on RTÉ

RTE

RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...

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

Achievements

Representing
2002	European Championships	Munich, Germany	30th	59.64 m 2002 European Athletics Championships – Women's hammer throw The final of the Women's hammer throw event at the 2002 European Championships in Munich, Germany was held on August 9, 2002. There were a total number of 44 participating athletes...
2005	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	24th	64.09 m
2006	European Championships 2006 European Athletics Championships – Women's hammer throw The Women's Hammer Throw event at the 2006 European Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden had a total number of 40 participating athletes. The final was held on Tuesday August 8, 2006, and the qualifying round on Monday August 7, 2006 with the mark set at 70.00 metres.-Medalists:-Schedule:*All times...	Gothenburg, Sweden	17th	65.07 m 2006 European Athletics Championships – Women's hammer throw The Women's Hammer Throw event at the 2006 European Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden had a total number of 40 participating athletes. The final was held on Tuesday August 8, 2006, and the qualifying round on Monday August 7, 2006 with the mark set at 70.00 metres.-Medalists:-Schedule:*All times...
2007	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	6th	70.93 m
	World Student Games Athletics at the 2007 Summer Universiade The athletics competition at the 2007 Summer Universiade was held in the Main Stadium at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, between 9 August and 14 August 2007.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medals table:-Results:******...	Bangkok, Thailand	2nd	68.46 m
2008	Olympic Games Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Women's hammer throw The Women's Hammer Throw event at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 18–20 August at the Beijing National Stadium.The qualifying standards were 69.50 m and 67.00 m .-Medalists:-Schedule:...	Beijing Beijing Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... , PR China	23rd	67.66 m
2009	World Student Games Athletics at the 2009 Summer Universiade The athletics competition at the 2009 Summer Universiade was held at the Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade, Serbia from July 7 to July 12, 2009.-Men's events:In Long Jump, Kim Deok-Hyeon's record is not unofficial....	Belgrade, Serbia	9th	66.97 m
	World Championships 2009 World Championships in Athletics – Women's hammer throw The Women's Hammer Throw event at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on August 20 and August 22.-Medalists:-Abbreviations:*All results shown are in metres-Records:...	Berlin, Germany	35th	63.20 m 2009 World Championships in Athletics – Women's hammer throw The Women's Hammer Throw event at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on August 20 and August 22.-Medalists:-Abbreviations:*All results shown are in metres-Records:...