Superman Liam dedicates amazing feat to three pals
SUPERMAN Liam O’Keeffe admits he had the thoughts of three great friends in his head when he completed a staggering feat of strength to mark his 64th birthday.
The former army man, who once roller skated from Tralee to Limerick in six hours and pulled a truck down West Street in Drogheda, completed a staggering 2,151 crossovers in Integral gym as a fundraiser for three charities.
‘I did it in memory of three of Drogheda’s hidden heroes, Kevin Penders, John Martin and Rory Smith. They were great men and this was my tribute to them’, he stated.
IT could be argued that Liam O’Keeffe is getting better with age - but the problem is that he was always good anyway.
Last week, to mark his 64th birthday, the former Irish powerlifting and body building star showed that he still has it with a staggering feat of physical and mental strength.
He took on a crossover chest challenge, setting himself the goal of making 2,017 reps in under an hour at Integral gym.
Not only did he complete the task in 30 minutes, but he added 134 for good measure inside the hour mark.
He did it for three charities close to his big heart, namely the Boomerang Youth Cafe and service, SOSAD and the 5th Floor at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.
In the end, he hopes to bring in €2,000 for each of the causes.
‘Age is only a number,’ the great man remarked, ‘you have no idea how much I’ve left in the tank.’
He works out five days a week and has battled back from lung issues following a fire a number of years ago.
Hard graft has seen him improve his lung capacity and he was only too eager to take on his latest challenge.
In the past, he’s taken part in a number of events, including a truck pull across West Street and roller skating from Tralee to Limerick, all for charity.
He began his gym work in 1980, at a time when he was serving in the army, based in Cork, Sarsfield Barracks in Limerick, and then Tralee.
His latest effort was also in memory of old pals Kevin Penders, John Martin and Rory Smith and he felt they were with him during the challenge.
His wife Suzanne and daughters have been big supporters while for this event, Neil and Jason in Fusion have said they’ll donate €3 for everyone who attended the club on Saturday night.
‘ There are sponsor cards still out there and it would be great to boost the number even more,’ he added.