Two years ago Eileen O’Keeffe was on top of the world as she came from relative obscurity to finish sixth in the world in the hammer at the World Track and Field Championships in Osaka.
O’Keeffe was then expected to go on and repeat this form at the Olympics in Beijing, but a serious knee injury hampered her preparation and her participation as she never came close to her best throwing.
The Kilkenny City Harriers athlete went under the knife to fix her knee troubles and this meant she missed a lot of her winter training but now feels she is getting back to somewhere near her best.
O’Keeffe said: ‘The surgery set me back which is very disappointing. If I had not missed so much preparation at the end of last year and the start of this year I would be capable of a lot more.
‘Despite that I am getting back to where I should be and throwing consistently in the high sixties I know I can do a lot better.’
While O’Keeffe is happy with her progress she is still having some slight issues with her knee. She stated: 'I am still having functional problems with the knee but I have to keep working on past that.
‘It is not 100 percent but I am happy with how my build up is going.’
Despite the problems with her preparation O’Keeffe is still hopeful of performing well in Berlin.
She went on to say: ‘Back in Osaka I was really happy with how I performed and my form was really good going into it as I had just broken the Irish record throwing a 73.21.
‘It would be great to repeat what I did two years ago but I need to take it step by step.
‘I know if I can throw close to a 70 I will make a final and once I get to that point I hope I will be able to get close to what I know I can do. If I can do that and put in a really consistent performance I will be really happy.’
Eileen O’Keeffe will begin her Championships in the qualification round of the hammer at 12:45 Irish time on Thursday 20 August. The World Track and Field Championships take place in Berlin, Germany from the 15 – 23 August. For more information see www.athleticsireland.ie.
