Nicola Tuthill wins University Athlete of the Year award

BY KIERAN McCARTHY

NICOLA Tuthill is going to need a bigger trophy cabinet.

Just days after she picked up a Celtic Ross West Cork Sports Star monthly award in Rosscarbery, the Kilbrittain teenager (19) added another pregious award to her collection – she was named University Athlete of the Year at the National Athletics Awards in Dublin.

‘It’s a real honour to win this award; it’s a really special one to have,’ the Irish senior women’s hammer champion said.

This past year offered further proof that Tuthill has a bright future ahead. She threw a personal best (67.85m) at the European Team Championships in Poland, her first senior international championship, and followed that up with a fourth-place finish at the European U23s in Finland.

‘The experience in Poland was amazing. It was my first time at a senior international like that and I was out there with senior internationals,’ Tuthill explained.

‘I was able to watch Phil Healy and Thomas Barr, who have been to the Olympics, so to see how they deal with the whole process and to be able to learn from them. For me, being able to perform on the day was nice. It was a great experience, but I was still able to bring my best on the day.’