O’Keeffe makes tame exit

LONG before yesterday’s qualification rounds of the women’s hammer in Beijing, there were doubts about Eileen O’Keeffe’s wellbeing, even about her participation.

She suffered a ruptured cartilage in her knee the week after the national championships but the knee had shown signs of wear and tear long before that.

The national championships had quelled fears about her Olympic participation when she turned in another stunning display, stepping Olympic preparations up a gear with a best of 72.75m — a performance reinforced with three other throws beyond the 70m target — 70.14, 72.02 and 72.17.