NICOLA Tuthill is going to need her dad Norman to build another throwing circle and cage just to store her growing collection of trophies.
The Kilbrittain hammer thrower won the Field Athlete of the Year Award at the 123.ie National Athletics Awards that took place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry. It’s the latest recognition that this rising star of Irish athletics is one to keep a close eye on in the years ahead.
The UCD student enjoyed another stellar season, highlighted by her Olympic debut in the hammer in Paris during the summer. There, the Bandon AC prodigy unleashed a 69.90m effort in the women’s hammer throw qualification round – it left Tuthill just over a metre shy of making the final. She also threw her new personal best of 70.32m in May, breaking the 70-metre barrier for the first time, as she continues to improve year on year. Also represented as nominees in the category were Eric Favors, Reece Ademola, and Kate O’Connor.
Phil Healy and the Irish women’s 4x400m relay squad won the Team of the Year award after a year that saw them finish fourth in the Olympics and win European silver. Also on the squad alongside the Bandon AC star are Kelly McGrory (Tir Chonaill AC), Lauren Cadden (Sligo AC), Rachel McCann (North Down AC), Sophie Becker (Raheny Shamrock AC), Rhasidat Adeleke (Tallaght AC) and Sharlene Mawdsley (Newport AC).
