Daniel O'Keeffe (swimmer)

Daniel O'Keeffe (born August 3, 1972) is a Guamanian former swimmer, who specialized in butterfly events.[1] He is a two-time Olympian (2000 and 2004), and currently holds a Guamanian record in the 100-meter butterfly (55.05).

Daniel "Dan" O'Keeffe
Personal information
Full nameDaniel O'Keeffe
National team Guam
Born (1972-08-03) 3 August 1972 (age 51)
Tumon, Guam
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight88 kg (194 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesButterfly
College teamUniversity of California, Los Angeles (U.S.)
CoachRon Ballatore (U.S.)

O'Keeffe was also a former member of coach Ron Ballatore's UCLA Bruins swimming and diving team at the University of California, Los Angeles, before returning to Guam in 1995.

O'Keeffe made his official debut, as Guam's only swimmer, at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he competed in the men's 100 m butterfly. Swimming in heat two, he posted a lifetime best of 56.05 to take a fourth seed and forty-fifth overall by a hundredth of a second (0.01) behind Algeria's Mehdi Addadi.[2]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, O'Keeffe qualified again for the 100 m butterfly, by receiving a Universality place from FINA, in an invitation time of 56.96.[3] He challenged seven other swimmers on the second heat, including fellow two-time Olympians Conrad Francis of Sri Lanka and Nicholas Rees of the Bahamas. He edged out Aruba's Davy Bisslik to take a seventh spot by 0.46 of a second in 57.39. O'Keeffe failed to advance into the semifinals, as he placed fifty-fifth overall in the preliminaries.[4][5]

O'Keeffe formerly lived in Guam, where he worked partly as a sports development officer for the Guam National Olympic Committee, President of the Guam Swimming Federation, and a president of the Greater Pacific Aquatics. O'Keeffe currently lives near St. Louis, Missouri where he is the coach of the Sunset Hills Stingrays summer swim team in Edwardsville, Illinois. His sister Garland O'Keeffe, a former world ranked swimmer, was also a former head coach of the women's swimming team at the University of Iowa.

References edit

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Daniel O'Keeffe". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  2. ^ "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 100m Butterfly Heat 2" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 206. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  3. ^ "Swimming – Men's 100m Butterfly Startlist (Heat 2)" (PDF). Athens 2004. Omega Timing. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  4. ^ "Men's 100m Butterfly Heat 2". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 19 August 2004. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  5. ^ Thomas, Stephen (19 August 2004). "Men's 100 Butterfly, Day 6 Prelims: Crocker Blasts Back into Form as Fastest Qualifier; Serdinov and Phelps Right on his Tail". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.

External links edit