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The Morton Memorial

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SPORTS NEWS RELEASE World’s greatest hammer throwers in Dublin next month
– Current world champion to test Eileen O’Keeffe
The strongest ever field of women hammer throwers assembled in Ireland, including the three all-time best German throwers, will come together at the Brother Ireland Morton Memorial in Santry Stadium on Friday 25th July.

Led by current world champion, Betty Heidler of Germany, the field will also include Ireland’s top Olympic Games prospect Eileen O’Keeffe, the current European Junior Champion, Kathrina Safrankova of the Czech Republic, Kathrin Klaas and Andres Bunjes of Germany and Bethany Hart of the USA.

Heidler has already thrown 73.93 metres this season, won the World Championships in Osaka in 2007 and was fourth at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. She has a personal best throw of 76.55 metres.

Eileen O’Keeffe from Kilkenny is the Irish national record holder and was sixth at last year’s World Championships. She has a personal best of 73.21 metres and won her competition last weekend at the European Cup. She has already thrown 70.39 metres this season.

19 year old Kathrina Safrankova is a rapidly rising star of European throwing and is favourite to win the World Junior Championships in Poland in two weeks time. She is the current European Junior Champion and has a personal and season’s best throw of 68.26 metres.

Also in the star-studded field is Kathrin Klaas of Germany (personal best 73.45 / season’s best 70.39), Andres Bunjes of Germany (personal best 70.73 / season’s best 67.35) and Bethany Hart of the USA (personal best 69.65 / season’s best of 68.93).

Announcing the world champion’s visit to Dublin, meeting director Garrett Coughlan said: “These throwers are approaching their peak form and the Brother Ireland Morton Meeting will be their final competition before Beijing. It will be a fantastic opportunity for an Irish audience to see a world-class event here and a chance for Eileen O’Keeffe and her Olympic team colleagues to have a spectacular send-off”.

Further details:
Garrett Coughlan, Meeting Director, 087 1313146, [email protected]
Roy Dooney,The Media Group, 087 2414165 / 01 2301815 / [email protected]

NOTE TO EDITORS
The Brother Ireland Morton Memorial Meeting is a new international athletics event which will take place on Friday 25th July in Morton Stadium, Santry to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the summer of world records on the old cinder track there. Over four weeks from the 9th of July to 7th August 1958 three world records were set in Santry over one, two and three miles.

With the generous support of Brother Ireland (which celebrates 50 years operating in Ireland in 2008) and the Irish Sports Council, the Meeting will serve as a send-off for Ireland’s athletes competing in the Beijing Games in August. The unique evening’s programme will be a free event for spectators who can apply for tickets (required to gain entry) through the meeting website at www.mortonmemorial.com