Nicola Tuthill will start her season at European Throwing Cup

IRISH senior women’s hammer champion Nicola Tuthill starts her season at this weekend’s European Throwing Cup in Split, Croatia.

The Kilbrittain teen has been named on the eight-strong Athletics Ireland team – made up of U23 and senior athletes competing across discus, hammer, javelin and shot put – that will be in action this Saturday and Sunday. For 17-year-old Tuthill, this weekend will be all about the experience of an international event.

‘I've no real expectations as it's U23 and I'm the youngest competitor on the startlist so hopefully I'll have four more years to try out for it,’ she says.

‘It will be a great experience for me though and it will give me a mark to get ranked in the U20s.’

The West Cork teenager is also targeting the European Athletics U20 Championships in Tallinn, Estonia in July, so this weekend’s competition will give her valuable big-competition experience.

The 2020 Celtic Ross Hotel West Cork Sports Star Junior Award winner had the qualifying standard from her 2020 season which saw her burst onto the senior scene as a 16-year-old and win the senior Irish women’s hammer title with a monstrous throw of 60.04m at the national championships in Dublin. It was a huge personal best for Tuthill as she became just the sixth Irish woman ever to throw over 60 metres.