IT was Nicola Tuthill's best placing at a senior major championships after finishing fifth in the women's hammer final in Birmingham on Wednesday evening.

Tuthill, the youngest athlete in the hammer final at just 22 years of age, continued to underline her status among Europe’s leading throwers with another impressive major championship performance.

The Paris Olympian opened with a throw of 70.30m, an effort which comfortably secured her place among the top eight and guaranteed her best-ever finish at a major championships as a senior athlete.

Tuthill improved marginally with her fourth-round effort, sending the hammer out to 70.33m to secure an excellent finish in Europe.

‘I feel really good. Obviously, fifth in Europe is insane. I think I was ranked about tenth coming in, so to be able to finish fifth is really, really special. But me being me, I’m looking at 72 metres for third and thinking about what might have been. Probably everyone in that field is thinking the same thing, but I’m delighted,’ the Kilbrittain native said.

‘Two years ago I was ninth and this year I’m fifth, so I’m moving in the right direction and I’ve another year of gathering that experience. I think I was the youngest person in the field tonight, so it’s really positive.

‘The fans have been unbelievable. I probably got one of the loudest cheers. There are just so many Irish people here and it really does drive on the performance. It’s always so special to be able to come out and perform in front of them.’

The women’s hammer medals went the way of Finland’s Silja Kosonen, who claimed European gold with a championship-winning 76.28m, with Italy’s Sara Fantini taking silver with 74.35m and Norway’s Beatrice Nedberge Llano securing bronze with 72.88m.