Eileen hoping to hammer the world

SHE doesn’t have a coach, she doesn’t even have a proper place to train, but Eileen O’Keeffe will enter the circle at these world championships today alongside some of the best hammer throwers in the world with a big chance of making the final.

The Kilkenny girl who put her nursing career on hold to train for these championships has added an exciting new dimension to Irish athletics.

She is the first woman to represent Ireland in a field event at a major championship since Patricia Walsh from Waterford, a student at Tennessee, made the discus final at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984.