Trailblazer Nicola Tuthill wins Ireland’s first field medal at U23 Euros
Nicola Tuthill has a knack for making history – and she was at it again at the European Athletics U23 Championships.
On a sunny Friday evening in Bergen, Norway, the Kilbrittain hammer thrower entered the record books as the first Irish athlete ever to win a field event medal at these championships.
Tuthill had already impressed in the qualifying round the day before, launching a huge 71.33m – the second-best throw of her career – to firmly insert herself into the medal conversation. And in the final, the 21-year-old delivered.
Her best throw of the night, 70.90m – the third furthest of her career – secured a brilliant silver medal. Only Germany’s Aileen Kuhn, who threw a personal best of 72.53m in round four, finished ahead of the Bandon AC star. Tuthill held off Valentina Savva of Cyprus, who claimed bronze with a 70.22m effort.
Nicola Tuthill with her coach Killian Barry.
‘Second is where I was ranked, and second is where I came, so I’m delighted with that,’ Tuthill beamed.
‘I’m always looking for a little bit more distance, but these medals are really hard to come by – so I’m delighted to get one.’
There was added emotion, too, with her coach and family in the crowd.
‘It’s really, really special. There were so many Irish fans, which was lovely. My coach was there, and then I was able to sprint over to my family, which was really nice.’
True to form, Tuthill remains hungry for more. She landed five of her six throws – 67.75m, 69.84m, 64.66m, 70.90m, and 70.05m – with her final attempt hitting the cage.
‘I’m not overly happy with my series of throws, to be honest – I know there’s more in me,’ she admitted.
‘But it’s another throw over 70 metres and my third best in competition, so in a major championship like this, with the nerves and everything that comes with it, I’m delighted.’
There’s no time for reflection either. Tuthill flew out to Germany on Wednesday ahead of this weekend’s World University Championships, where she’s in action on Saturday.
This is the latest milestone in what has already been a standout year for the Kilbrittain woman.
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In March, she became Ireland’s first-ever champion in European Throwing Cup history, winning U23 gold.
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In June, she threw a new personal best of 71.71m.
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And now, in July, she’s added a European U23 silver medal to her growing collection.
Maeve O'Neill ran an impressive new 800m personal best.
Elsewhere at the U23 Championships, Maeve O’Neill continues to put Ballinacarriga on the map. The Doheny AC athlete was desperately unlucky to miss out on a place in the women’s 800m final – despite running a brilliant new personal best of 2:02.66 to finish third in her heat.
The Providence College student was pipped on the line by Italy’s Ngalula Gloria Kabangu for the final automatic qualification spot. O’Neill was the fastest athlete not to qualify and even posted a quicker time than the qualifiers from heat three.
Aoife Hernon was part of the 4x400m relay team.
Meanwhile, Aoife Hernon helped the Irish women’s 4x400m relay team set a new national U23 record of 3:34.81. Hernon, a native of Rosscarbery who lived on the Glandore Road and attended Glandore National School, moved to California in 2014 at the age of 11.
Her mother Maureen (née Tobin) is from Rosscarbery, and her father Joe is from the Aran Islands. Aoife, who now runs for Bandon AC, attended middle and high school in Los Altos and graduated from UC Santa Barbara this summer.
