Pat O'Callaghan

Pat O'Callaghan, 1928

Patrick "Pat" O'Callaghan (born September 15, 1905 in Derrygallon , County Cork , † December 1, 1991 in Clonmel ) was an Irish hammer thrower and two-time Olympic champion .

biography

O'Callaghan studied medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin . After graduating in 1926, he served in the Royal Air Force Medical Corps . In 1928 he returned to Ireland and opened his own medical practice in Clonmel ( County Tipperary ) .

In 1927 O'Callaghan first took part in a hammer throw competition in Dublin. Soon he left all opponents behind. At the Olympic Games in Amsterdam in 1928 he won the gold medal. He was thus the first Olympic champion of independent Ireland; several Olympic champions in this discipline, John Flanagan (3 wins) and Pat Ryan were Irish by birth, but competed for the USA. In 1932 in Los Angeles , O'Callaghan repeated this success. He was not allowed to participate in Berlin in 1936 because the world association IAAF refused to recognize the Irish association.

During his career, O'Callaghan won six Irish championship titles in hammer throw, shot put , weight throwing and high jump . In 1937 he set an unofficial world record in hammer throw at the championships of County Cork . He reached a distance of 59.55 m, but the IAAF still refused to recognize the Irish Federation and so the litter was not officially recognized. O'Callaghan's width was not exceeded until 1949.

Dr. O'Callaghan practiced in Clonmel for more than sixty years and did not close his practice until he was well over eighty.

Web links

• Pat O'Callaghan in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )