Pat O'Callaghan facts for kids
O'Callaghan at the 1928 Olympic Games
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Patrick O'Callaghan | |||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Pat | |||||||||||||
| Nationality | Irish | |||||||||||||
| Citizenship | British citizenship (1906 to 1922), Irish citizenship (1922 to 1991) | |||||||||||||
| Born | 28 January 1906 Banteer, County Cork, Ireland |
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| Died | 1 December 1991 (aged 85) Clonmel, County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland |
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| Height | 1.80 m | |||||||||||||
| Weight | 98 kg | |||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | Hammer throw | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Pat O'Callaghan (born January 28, 1906 – died December 1, 1991) was a famous Irish athlete. He won gold medals at the Olympic Games. He was the first athlete from Ireland to win an Olympic medal for his country under the Irish flag. Many people remember him as one of Ireland's best athletes ever.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Pat O'Callaghan was born in Knockaneroe, near Kanturk, County Cork, on January 28, 1906. He was one of three sons. His father, Paddy O'Callaghan, was a farmer.
Pat started school at Derrygalun National School when he was just two years old. Later, he went to secondary school in Kanturk. At age fifteen, he won a scholarship to the Patrician Academy in Mallow. Every day, he cycled 32 miles (about 51 km) to and from school. He never missed a class!
After that, Pat studied medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in Dublin. He became a doctor in 1926. He then worked as a doctor for the Royal Air Force. In 1928, he came back to Ireland and opened his own medical practice in Clonmel, County Tipperary. He worked there until he retired in 1984. Pat was also known for his love of outdoor sports, training greyhounds, and telling great stories.
Sporting Journey
Family and Early Sports
Pat O'Callaghan grew up in a family that loved many different sports. His uncle, Tim Vaughan, was a national sprint champion. He also played Gaelic football for Cork. Pat's older brother, Seán, enjoyed football and won a national hurdles title. His other brother, Con, was also a talented runner, jumper, and thrower.
Pat's first sports interests included hunting and Gaelic football. He was a great midfielder for the Banteer football team. He also played for the Banteer hurling team.
Discovering Hammer Throwing
While at university in Dublin, Pat tried new sports. He joined a local senior rugby club. At that time, the Gaelic Athletic Association had a rule. It stopped players of Gaelic games from playing "foreign sports." It was in Dublin that Pat first became interested in hammer throwing.
In 1926, he returned home and started training for hammer throwing. He even made his own hammer! He drilled a hole through a 16-pound (7.2 kg) shot. Then, he filled it with the ball-bearing core of a bicycle pedal. He also made a throwing circle in a nearby field to practice.
In 1927, Pat won the hammer championship in Dublin. He threw the hammer 142 feet 3 inches (43.36 m). In 1928, he won the national title again with a throw of 162 feet 6 inches (49.53 m). This win meant he could represent Ireland at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam. On the same day, his brother Con won the shot put and the decathlon. Con also qualified for the Olympic Games. Before the Olympics, Pat improved his throwing distance to 166 feet 11 inches (50.88 m) at a sports event in Belfast.
1928 Olympic Games: A Historic Win
In the summer of 1928, Pat and his two brothers paid their own way to the Olympic Games in Amsterdam. In the hammer throw event, Pat O'Callaghan started the final with a throw of 47.49 meters (155 ft 10 in). This put him in third place.
For his second throw, Pat used the hammer of a Swedish competitor, Ossian Skiöld. He threw it 51.39 meters (168 ft 7 in). This was 10 centimeters (4 in) farther than Skiöld's best throw. It earned Pat O'Callaghan Ireland's first gold medal at the Olympics! The medal ceremony was very special. It was the first time the Irish tricolour flag was raised and the Irish national anthem, Amhrán na bhFiann, was played at the Olympic Games.
Success in Ireland
After his Olympic win, Pat O'Callaghan continued to be a top athlete from 1929 to 1932. In the 1930 national championships, he won many events. He won the hammer throw, shot-putt, 56-pound (25 kg) weight throw, 56-pound (25 kg) over-the-bar throw, discus, and high jump.
In 1930, Pat competed in a special event in Stockholm. Ossian Skiöld hoped to beat Pat there. On the first day, Skiöld broke his own European record. But Pat immediately threw even farther, breaking the new record! On the second day, both athletes were very close. With his last throw, Pat set a new European record of 178 feet 8 inches (54.46 m) to win.
1932 Summer Olympics: Defending His Title
By the time of the 1932 Summer Olympics, Pat O'Callaghan was regularly throwing the hammer over 170 feet (52 m). The Irish team was much better organized this time. People in Ireland even collected money at churches to help fund the 6,000-mile (9,700 km) journey to Los Angeles. Before leaving, Pat won his fifth national hammer title.
When Pat arrived in Los Angeles, he faced a challenge. The hammer throwing circle was usually grass or clay. Throwers wore special shoes with steel spikes for grip. But in Los Angeles, the surface was cinder (like ash). Pat had not been told about this change. He only had spiked shoes for grass or clay. He wore his shortest spikes, but they kept getting stuck in the hard cinder. This made it hard for him to do his important third turn.
Even with this problem, he still qualified for the final with a throw of 52.21 meters (171 ft 4 in). While waiting for another event to finish, Pat found a hacksaw and a file. He quickly cut off the spikes from his shoes. His second throw in the final reached 53.92 meters (176 ft 11 in). This amazing effort allowed him to win his second Olympic gold medal! It was a great day for Ireland. Bob Tisdall had also won a gold medal earlier in the 400m hurdles.
Retirement from International Sport
After the 1932 Olympics, Pat O'Callaghan celebrated a lot. He did not compete in the national championships in 1933. However, he kept training hard. He even tried a new technique with a fourth turn. He set a new European record of 178 feet 9 inches (54.48 m). By this time, sports journalists around the world thought he was the best hammer thrower.
In the early 1930s, there was a disagreement between sports organizations. The British AAA and the National Athletic and Cycling Association of Ireland (NACAI) both claimed control over athletics in Ireland. This problem became serious before the 1936 Summer Olympics. The international athletics group (IAAF) eventually decided that the NACAI could not send a team to the Olympics.
Pat O'Callaghan stayed loyal to the NACAI. This decision meant he could no longer compete in international events. No Irish team went to the 1936 Olympic Games. However, Pat still traveled to Berlin to watch as a private spectator. After Berlin, his international career was over. He continued to compete under NACAI rules. In 1937, he threw 195 feet 4 inches (59.54 m) at Fermoy. This was almost two meters farther than the world record set by his friend Paddy 'Chicken' Ryan in 1913. However, this record was not officially recognized by other sports groups.
Even in retirement, Pat O'Callaghan remained interested in athletics. He went to every Olympic Games until 1988. He also enjoyed fishing and other outdoor activities in Clonmel. He passed away on December 1, 1991.
Legacy
Pat O'Callaghan was the flag bearer for Ireland at the 1932 Olympics. In 1960, he was the first person to receive the Texaco Hall of Fame Award. He was made a Freeman of Clonmel in 1984. He was also the honorary president of Commercials Gaelic Football Club.
The Dr. Pat O'Callaghan Sports Complex in Clonmel is named after him. In January 2007, a statue of him was put up in Banteer, County Cork, where he was born.
