World and Olympic finalist Nicola Tuthill won silver at the European Throwing Cup in Nicosia, throwing a new personal best of 72.48m in the Hammer Throw (March 14th).
Tuthill has a tumultuous relationship with the European Throwing Cup. In Leiria in 2022, the Irish athlete suffered a fractured and dislocated elbow during the women’s U23 hammer competition. Demonstrating immense resilience, she returned the following year to become the first Irish athlete to win a medal at the event, claiming silver in Leiria in 2023 – a result she repeated the following year.
In Nicosia last year, Tuthill etched her name further into Irish athletics history by becoming the first Irish gold medallist at the European Throwing Cup, winning the U23 hammer title.
Today’s result is made even more impressive after a disrupted few months for the UCD AC athlete following the World Championships in Tokyo. Her new personal best improves on the 71.75m she threw back in August of last year, and moves her closer to Eileen O’Keeffe’s national record of 73.21m.
Elsewhere on Day One, Anna Gavigan finished 5th in the U23 women’s discus with a best throw of 51.07m (SB) to open her season strongly. It marked another solid performance from the Lambay Sports Academy athlete, who also medalled at the event last year.
Olympian Eric Favors (Raheny Shamrock AC) claimed bronze in the senior men’s shot put at the European Throwing Cup in Cyprus, delivering Ireland’s second senior medal of the weekend (March 15th).
Favors produced a best throw of 19.68m to secure the podium finish in challenging, wet conditions. The result follows on from the silver medal won by Nicola Tuthill in Saturday’s hammer competition.
Speaking after his medal-winning performance, Favors said, “It feels unbelievable. It was raining and conditions weren’t the best, but I prepared to the best of my ability and threw enough for a medal. Last year we had three junior medals, and then Nicola got silver yesterday, so to have two senior medals coming home – which I don’t think was on the cards – shows the investment that’s been put into throws in Ireland, and we’ll continue to grow and get better in the years to come.”
Favors, who holds the Irish national record of 20.93m set in 2024, continues his strong start to 2026 having also claimed gold at the 123.ie National Senior Indoor Championships earlier this season with a championship record performance.
Elsewhere in Nicosia, national record-holder Niamh Fogarty (Raheny Shamrock AC) produced a best throw of 52.70m to finish 14th overall in the senior women’s discus, marking a solid early-season performance as her discus campaign begins to gather momentum.
Ireland’s throwing contingent were also represented in the javelin where Conor Cusack (Lake District AC) threw a 75.83 PB for 11th place overall to round out a remarkable weekend for Irish throws in Nicosia. Cusack’s performance cements his place in third on the Irish all-time list.
Full results can be found HERE.
