MATTHEW CALLINAN KEENAN – Athletics
Matthew Callinan Keenan Photo: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
Sport is all about producing your best on the days that matter most. All the preparation in the world means nothing if you can’t perform on the big days. Pole vaulter Matthew Callinan Keenan proved in 2024 that he very definitely can.
Just a week before the Irish outdoor Championships, Callinan Keenan produced a personal best jump of 4.81m when competing in England.
On one hand, it showed he was in top form going into the Irish Championships but there was an element of pressure on him now too. He had proven through the year that he was Ireland’s best pole vaulter but could he now do it when a national title was at stake?
Callinan Keenan had won his first outdoor Irish title with a jump of 4.50m in 2022 but was well below that in 2023 when a jump of 4.30m was only good enough for a bronze medal.
Both those years were close contests, indeed his win in 2022 was only secured on a countback after an opponent matched his height but in 2024 Callinan Keenan obliterated the opposition. His jump of 4.75m was just short of his PB but still well ahead of the second place jump of 4.40m.
The win secured a national title double as earlier in the year he had taken his third indoor title and a gold already this year in the National Indoor AAI Games shows he is good shape to add to that at the National Indoor Championships this weekend.
His chosen sport demands a huge amount variety of skills. Speed, strength, bravery, precision and a fair degree of mental fortitude and Callinan Keenan has shown that he has them all.
Clearing the five metre barrier is an obvious target for the future as Callinan Keenan continues to develop and it’s an ambition that doesn’t seem beyond the realms of possibility for the talented St Laurence O’Toole athlete.
