Personal information | |
---|---|
Full name | Daniel O'Keeffe |
National team | ![]() |
Born | Tumon, Guam | 3 August 1972
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
Weight | 88 kg (194 lb) |
Sport | |
Sport | Swimming |
Strokes | Butterfly |
College team | University of California, Los Angeles (U.S.) |
Coach | Ron Ballatore (U.S.) |
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).
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.
Aruba sent a delegation to compete at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece from 13 to 29 August 2004. The delegation's participation in the Athens Olympics marked Aruba's fifth appearance at the Summer Olympics since the Dutch colony's debut at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Four athletes competed across three sports. None of the track or swimming athletes advanced past the first round in their events, and as of Athens, no Arubans had medaled in any events. Roshendra Vrolijk bore Aruba's flag at the ceremonies.
Eduardo Germán Otero is an Argentine former swimmer, who specialized in backstroke and butterfly events. He is a three-time Olympian, a multiple-time national record holder, and a two-time champion for the 50 m backstroke at the South American Games. He is also a member of Club Nadadores del Rio Plata, and is coached and trained by Marcelo "Yuri" Quaglia.
Ravil Nachaev is an Uzbek former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle and butterfly events. He is a three-time Olympian, and a gold medalist in the 50 m freestyle at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.
Maria Papadopoulou is a Cypriot former swimmer who specialized in butterfly events. She set a Cypriot record of 1:01.67 to earn a bronze medal in the 100 m butterfly at the 2001 Mediterranean Games in Tunis, Tunisia.
Pavel Mikalayevich Lahun is a Belarusian former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle and butterfly events. He is a two-time Olympian, and a three-time medalist at the FINA World Cup.
Nicholas Rees is a Bahamian former swimmer, who specialized in butterfly events. He is a two-time Olympian, a former Caribbean and Bahamian record holder in the 100 m butterfly, a varsity swimmer for the Ohio State Buckeyes, and a graduate of business administration at Ohio State University. Rees later obtained an MBA in International Business from the University of Miami. Nicholas Rees is also the grandson of Lionel Wilmot Brabazon Rees, VC, British war hero, Victoria Cross recipient and advisor to the Crown.
Conrad Anthony Francis is a Sri Lankan former swimmer, who specialized in butterfly events. He is a two-time Olympian, a three-time swimmer at the Commonwealth Games, and a double gold medalist in the 50 and 100 m butterfly at the Asian Age Group Championships. Francis also became the first Sri Lankan to swim the same stroke under 56 seconds, when he competed at the 2004 FINA World Short Course Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Angela Galea is a Maltese former swimmer, who specialized in butterfly events. She is a two-time Olympian, a three-time champion at the Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE), and a multiple-time Maltese record holder in both freestyle and butterfly. In preparation for her Games, she was trained for the Italian Olympic team, under the guidance of head coach Maurizio Cocconi.
Kolbrún Ýr Kristjánsdóttir is a retired Icelandic swimmer, who specialized in backstroke and butterfly events. She is a two-time Olympian, and former Icelandic record holder in the same strokes.
Daniel Tam Chi-kin is a Hong Kong former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. He is a two-time Olympian, and a double finalist in the 100 and 200 m breaststroke at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea. Tam is a member of the swimming team for SLA Sports Club, and is trained by an Australian-born coach Anthony Giorgi.
Albert Christiadi Sutanto is an Indonesian former swimmer, who specialized in butterfly and medley events. He is a two-time Olympian, and multi medalist 9 Gold 5 Silver and 16 Bronze at the Southeast Asian Games.
Arsenio Alexander López Rosario, also known as Alex Lopez, is a Puerto Rican former swimmer and three-time Olympian who specialized in breaststroke and individual medley events.
Yevgeny Petrashov is a Kyrgyzstani former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. He is a three-time Olympian, and a former Kyrgyzstan record holder in both 100 and 200 m breaststroke.
Aleksandr Agafonov is an Uzbek former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle events. He is a three-time Olympian, a two-time swimmer at the Asian Games, and a former Uzbekistani age group record holder in the 100 and 200 m freestyle.
Spyridon "Spiros" Bitsakis is a Greek former swimmer, who specialized in freestyle events. He is a two-time Olympian, and a 2003 All-American swimmer in the 100 m freestyle, while studying in the United States. He is one of two Greek swimmers, alongside Apostolos Tsagkarakis, who trained for the Alabama Crimson Tide, under head coach Don Gambril, at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Theophilus "Theo" Verster is a South African former swimmer, who specialised in butterfly and in individual medley events. He won three medals at the 1999 All-Africa Games, and later represented South Africa at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He also held an African record of 55.04 from the 2002 Telkom International Sprint Challenge that defeated Terence Parkin for a top finish and sliced off Brendon Dedekind's standard by 0.37 of a second. During his sporting career, Verster trained full-time under his personal coach Alisdair Hatfield.
Mehdi Addadi is an Algerian former swimmer, who specialized in sprint backstroke and butterfly events. He collected two medals, a gold and a bronze, from the All-Africa Games, and later represented Algeria, along with Salim Iles, at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Ríkarður Ríkarðsson is an Icelandic former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle and butterfly events. Rikardsson competed only in two individual events at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He achieved FINA B-standards of 56.22 from the U.S. National Championships in Federal Way, Washington, and 52.42 from the European Championships in Helsinki, Finland. In the 100 m freestyle, Rikardsson placed fifty-eighth on the morning prelims. Swimming in heat three, he picked up a fourth seed by 0.63 of a second behind winner Paul Kutscher of Uruguay in 52.85. Two days later, in the 100 m butterfly, Rikardsson challenged seven other swimmers in heat two, including Guam's 28-year-old Daniel O'Keeffe and Bosnia's three-time Olympian Janko Gojković. He blasted a new Icelandic record of 56.11 to take a sixth spot and forty-eighth overall, finishing behind winner Gojkovic by almost two-thirds of a second (0.66).
Janko Gojković is a Bosnian former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle and butterfly events. He is a three-time Olympian, and a member of the Bosnian swimming team since the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia in 1991. He held numerous Bosnian records in the 100 m butterfly, and achieved top finishes from the European Championships. After his sporting career ended in 2000, Gojković worked in various swim clubs across Great Britain and some parts of Eastern Europe.
Roberto Delgado Martillo is an American-Ecuadorian former swimmer who specialized in freestyle and butterfly events. A two-time Olympian, he holds numerous Ecuadorian records in both 100 and 200 m butterfly, and retains his dual resident status to compete internationally for his parents' homeland. While studying in the United States, Delgado has been listed as an all-time Top 10 performer in the 200 m butterfly for the Arizona State Sun Devils.