Patrick O'CALLAGHAN

Pat O'Callaghan of Derrygallon in North Cork, Ireland, had only been competing in the hammer throw for thirteen months when he entered the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. In the final, he trailed Ossian Skiöld of Sweden until the next to last round, when O'Callaghan unleashed the best throw of his career (by 51 centimetres) to win the gold medal. At the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, O'Callaghan tried to defend his title. Throughout the competition, he spent almost all of his waiting time filing down the spikes on his shoes. After five of the six rounds, he was in second place behind Ville Pörhöla of Finland. But then, with his final attempt, O'Callaghan connected with a throw of 53.92m to earn another dramatic victory.