THE first time Nicola Tuthill walked into a championship call room, she was surrounded by athletes she’d only ever watched on television.

This time, she’ll be greeting many of them as familiar rivals, another sign of how quickly the Kilbrittain thrower has established herself among Europe’s elite.

The grandest occasions don’t faze her.

Just two years ago, the 2024 European Athletics Championships in Rome were Tuthill’s first major senior championships. That same summer, she stepped onto the Olympic stage in Paris. Last September, she looked at home on the global stage at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

Each competition has charted another stage in her rapid rise.

‘Every major championship is exciting and I’d say that’ll probably always be the case,’ she says ahead of next week’s Europeans in Birmingham.

‘Having been in that environment before, though, you’re more used to the set-up, the call room and everything that goes with it, so it’s not completely new anymore.

‘I’ve always had the mindset that, whether it was my first championship or not, I was there to do my best and compete. I try not to let the surroundings interfere with me too much.

‘Now that I’ve competed on the circuit a bit more, I know a lot of the girls. Even with the Irish team, we’ve an amazing squad going to the Europeans and there’s huge strength in depth.

‘I’ve competed against a lot of the hammer throwers before, so you know people and they become familiar faces. I think that definitely settles the nerves.

‘At my first Europeans I was looking around at athletes I’d only ever seen on TV. This time I’m looking around at girls I’ve been competing against all year, and I think that’s really nice.’

Nicola Tuthill loved every minute of her 2024 European Athletics Championships experience.

Each time Tuthill, just 22 years old, competes at a major senior championship, it provides a marker in her continued development.

At the 2024 Europeans, her first major senior final, she finished ninth with a top throw of 69.09 metres. At the Olympics in Paris, Tuthill, the youngest in the women’s hammer, came 16th of 32, with a best effort of 69.90 metres. At the 2025 Worlds, she qualified for her first global final at this level, and finished 11th.

‘Obviously I went to the Europeans two years ago and I managed to make a final, which was amazing. This year, coming into it, I’d love to do the same. I’d love to make another final, but the throwing in Europe at the moment is insanely strong,’ Tuthill says.

‘The standard is really, really high. The sport is evolving – everyone is getting stronger, faster and more powerful every year. The standard is constantly improving.

‘But hopefully I’ll be able to go out there and throw close to my best, and hopefully that’ll be enough to make the final.’

Tuthill’s right to point out that standards are improving, but she is too. Starting off this year with a personal best of 71.75m, she has taken it up to 72.73m, and is closing in on Eileen O’Keeffe’s long-standing Irish record of 73.21m.

There has been a consistency to Tuthill’s throws this year too. She opened her season with a then personal best of 72.48m to win silver at the European Throwing Cup. In the five competitions that followed, her top throws were 71.98m, 71.37m, 72.73m (PB), 72.35m, and 71.07m – all in around 72 metres. At Cork City Sports, all three throws were above 72.

The only exception was when the reigning queen of the Irish women’s hammer won her fourth national senior title in a row with a best effort of 70.16m.

They are the encouraging numbers that prove Tuthill continues to throw further. But it’s not been a straightforward season either.

‘It’s been a tricky year with different injuries and niggles that we’ve been managing, and I’m very lucky with the team around me because we’ve managed to keep me throwing well,’ she explains.

‘To open my season with a PB after a difficult winter with injury, and then maintain that through the summer while dealing with other little niggles, I’m really happy with it.

‘Obviously I’ve stepped it up that little bit this year... and so has everyone else!’

‘It’s just a case of keeping building and hopefully throwing further again.’

After the Europeans, Tuthill will step outside the throwing cage for a period and allow her body to rest and recover.

Olympic Nicola Tuthill is an athlete for the big occasion.

‘The plan is to take a break and properly sort out the knee issue I’ve been dealing with. It’s a tendon issue that probably won’t settle until I stop throwing on it for a while,’ she explains.

‘We’ve managed it really well and it’s improving all the time. There are things back in my training now that I couldn’t do earlier in the year.

‘I’ll take a few weeks, reassess everything and then get straight back into it. I never like taking too long because I just get bored! I miss the training too much. It’s important to take a break, but I never want it to be too long.’

‘The idea is to get it completely right before I start back training for next season, so hopefully I can build on everything again next year.’

Before that, Tuthill wants to sign off on her 2026 season in style at the Europeans in Birmingham. It’s another chance to test herself against the best throwers. The action starts in the evening session on Monday with the qualifying groups, and the target is to book her place in Wednesday evening’s final.

She is taking momentum from recent competitions, and part of the learning curve is to balance ambition with performance.

‘There’s definitely a fine line where you can over-fixate on something. At the Europeans, you’re going out there to compete. Obviously you need distance to qualify, but you also need to beat a certain number of people,’ Tuthill explains.

‘So you’re focusing more on the competition around you than the actual distance, if that makes sense. Ideally, a big throw brings a better result, but to get that big throw you have to get everything right.

‘Your technique has to be right, your fuelling has to be right and you have to stay in the moment. Then the conditions on the day can affect everybody as well.

‘It really comes down to who can perform with whatever is put in front of them. I’ll be hoping to go out there and perform to my best, and hopefully that’ll be enough, but the level is so high at the moment that you just never know.’