THE TWO HORSES on Nicola Tuthill’s farm know what it means when she approaches their field: she’s about to launch the hammer. Stand well back.
The hammer throw cage has been at her home in Kilbrittain, West Cork, since her Junior Cert year in 2019. Her mother was the one who first drew up the plans and asked Tuthill’s father, Norman, if such a construction would be possible on their land.
The number of hours spent on Tuthill’s training inspired the project. The driving was one factor but there was also the time taken up with removing hammers that became stuck in the wires after one of her throws. Her sisters would have to go on these training trips too, often doing their homework in the back of the car.
And so, the field next to their house was chosen for Tuthill’s home training facility. Now she could hammer the hammer at her ease.
“I’ve taken over that field now,” Tuthill says smiling down a zoom call in the days before her World Championships campaign gets underway in Tokyo.
“I’ve two horses and that’s where they stay. So, they get locked down far away and they’ve kind of learned to stay out of the way at this point. They just kind of know. They see me coming, they head away.”
****
At just 21, Tuthill is already becoming one of Ireland’s most exciting field prospects in athletics. She made her Olympic debut in Paris last year where she finished in 16th place, narrowly missing out on a place in the final by 1.16m.
Her 2025 season makes for impressive reading too. She became a four-time senior National Champion, achieving a new personal best with her winning throw of 71.75m. Tuthill also made a considerable imprint on the European and World stage with a double medal success in July.
She started with a silver medal at the European U23 Championships in Norway, sealing her place on the podium with a 70.90m effort. She continued that trend at the World University Games in Germany where a throw of 69.98m delivered another second-place finish to exceed the third-placed ranking she was allocated ahead of the competition.
A prolific run indeed.
The days before making one’s World Championships debut is possibly not the moment for reflecting on past achievements, but Tuthill has taken a beat to consider the heights she has scaled so far.
“I’m always hungry for more, so I took a second, 100%, to appreciate it, but then it was straight back to training and I knew I had world champs as well, so I really wanted to just knuckle down and keep going.
“The signs were there that I was capable of throwing PBs, training had been going well and everything so it’s having it all click on the right day because it’s easy to do things like that in training because there’s no pressure but to PB at a competition, you only have a certain amount of throws, so the training can be going well and I’m moving up in the gym with my weights and everything like that, but it’s just come the competition then, seeing how far can you actually throw.”
Psychology is a major aspect in a sport like the hammer throw. Unlike the track sports, the athletes must wait in line for their turn in the cage. Momentum is difficult to build when one must step aside for the next contender after each go. And of course, there are no do-overs or resets if the attempt goes poorly.
Tuthill has encountered these stressors before. In Paris, her first effort was a foul throw after the hammer landed against the cage. And at this year’s World University Games, she found herself in fourth position at one stage as her throws were landing between 66 and 67 metres which is short of her the 70m landing zone that she is capable of.
How she uses the time to reset between each throw is crucial. Every second counts when the difference between triumph and despair is measured in centimetres.
“You panic for a second, but you’re like, ‘No, hold on a second, this has happened in training before and my next throw is going out straight.’
“I know I’m able to do it, so it’s just a case of drawing on all the support you have and everything you’ve worked on before just to be able to calm on the day.
“You’re going to have good and bad days and everyone’s the same, but I think the field events are really exciting in that way because competitions can be won in the final round by centimetres.”
****
Before she was swinging the hammer, Tuthill’s focus in athletics was running. She majored in middle and long distance racing and ran in the relays too. The hammer throw was just something she decided to sample on the side. But then she met a neighbour who used to throw, and offered to coach her. By 2019, the same year that the cage was erected at home, she met her current coach Killian Barry who is also an ex-hammer thrower.
“I kind of decided that hammer was definitely the one I wanted to do and I wanted to take it seriously,” she continues.
“I do at times miss the fitness I had when I was younger, but it’s a completely different type of fitness now. I really do love going into the gym and I think with the hammer, that’s what I really like about it. There’s always something you can work on. It’s always different.
Nicola Tuthill at the Paris Olympics last year. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
“You can do gym, I’m still running. I still do sprints and stuff. So it is nice that you kind of have, with the hammer, I get to throw, I get to go to the gym and I get to still do a bit of running. So it’s kind of a happy medium.”
****
Tuthill is studying to become a maths and biology teacher in UCD and has two years left on her course. She was supposed to commence her placement in Dublin last month but her scholarship programme is accommodating her to hit pause on her academic schedule while business in Tokyo takes precedence. She even decided to leave her books at home for the duration.
Adapting to the humidity has been a challenge on what is her first trip to Asia, but she’s learning to acclimatise after two weeks in Japan’s capital city. Being in the team hotel, and seeing competitors from other nations start to arrive has helped her to settle too.
What awaits her in the Japan National Stadium is now becoming more real. A West Cork woman’s graph is set to rise again.
“It’s a whole different environment and the weather and everything’s different. But for me, I’m always looking to do better and I’m always edging for that PB and to get that bit more out of myself. So for sure, I’d love to get a PB, but you just never know in a championship environment. So I’m just kind of hoping to throw close to my best and hopefully then I’ll be happy.”
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Building a hammer throw cage at home in Cork to help one of Ireland's most exciting talents
THE TWO HORSES on Nicola Tuthill’s farm know what it means when she approaches their field: she’s about to launch the hammer. Stand well back.
The hammer throw cage has been at her home in Kilbrittain, West Cork, since her Junior Cert year in 2019. Her mother was the one who first drew up the plans and asked Tuthill’s father, Norman, if such a construction would be possible on their land.
The number of hours spent on Tuthill’s training inspired the project. The driving was one factor but there was also the time taken up with removing hammers that became stuck in the wires after one of her throws. Her sisters would have to go on these training trips too, often doing their homework in the back of the car.
And so, the field next to their house was chosen for Tuthill’s home training facility. Now she could hammer the hammer at her ease.
“I’ve taken over that field now,” Tuthill says smiling down a zoom call in the days before her World Championships campaign gets underway in Tokyo.
“I’ve two horses and that’s where they stay. So, they get locked down far away and they’ve kind of learned to stay out of the way at this point. They just kind of know. They see me coming, they head away.”
****
At just 21, Tuthill is already becoming one of Ireland’s most exciting field prospects in athletics. She made her Olympic debut in Paris last year where she finished in 16th place, narrowly missing out on a place in the final by 1.16m.
Her 2025 season makes for impressive reading too. She became a four-time senior National Champion, achieving a new personal best with her winning throw of 71.75m. Tuthill also made a considerable imprint on the European and World stage with a double medal success in July.
She started with a silver medal at the European U23 Championships in Norway, sealing her place on the podium with a 70.90m effort. She continued that trend at the World University Games in Germany where a throw of 69.98m delivered another second-place finish to exceed the third-placed ranking she was allocated ahead of the competition.
A prolific run indeed.
The days before making one’s World Championships debut is possibly not the moment for reflecting on past achievements, but Tuthill has taken a beat to consider the heights she has scaled so far.
“I’m always hungry for more, so I took a second, 100%, to appreciate it, but then it was straight back to training and I knew I had world champs as well, so I really wanted to just knuckle down and keep going.
“The signs were there that I was capable of throwing PBs, training had been going well and everything so it’s having it all click on the right day because it’s easy to do things like that in training because there’s no pressure but to PB at a competition, you only have a certain amount of throws, so the training can be going well and I’m moving up in the gym with my weights and everything like that, but it’s just come the competition then, seeing how far can you actually throw.”
Psychology is a major aspect in a sport like the hammer throw. Unlike the track sports, the athletes must wait in line for their turn in the cage. Momentum is difficult to build when one must step aside for the next contender after each go. And of course, there are no do-overs or resets if the attempt goes poorly.
Tuthill has encountered these stressors before. In Paris, her first effort was a foul throw after the hammer landed against the cage. And at this year’s World University Games, she found herself in fourth position at one stage as her throws were landing between 66 and 67 metres which is short of her the 70m landing zone that she is capable of.
How she uses the time to reset between each throw is crucial. Every second counts when the difference between triumph and despair is measured in centimetres.
“You panic for a second, but you’re like, ‘No, hold on a second, this has happened in training before and my next throw is going out straight.’
“I know I’m able to do it, so it’s just a case of drawing on all the support you have and everything you’ve worked on before just to be able to calm on the day.
“You’re going to have good and bad days and everyone’s the same, but I think the field events are really exciting in that way because competitions can be won in the final round by centimetres.”
****
Before she was swinging the hammer, Tuthill’s focus in athletics was running. She majored in middle and long distance racing and ran in the relays too. The hammer throw was just something she decided to sample on the side. But then she met a neighbour who used to throw, and offered to coach her. By 2019, the same year that the cage was erected at home, she met her current coach Killian Barry who is also an ex-hammer thrower.
“I kind of decided that hammer was definitely the one I wanted to do and I wanted to take it seriously,” she continues.
“I do at times miss the fitness I had when I was younger, but it’s a completely different type of fitness now. I really do love going into the gym and I think with the hammer, that’s what I really like about it. There’s always something you can work on. It’s always different.
“You can do gym, I’m still running. I still do sprints and stuff. So it is nice that you kind of have, with the hammer, I get to throw, I get to go to the gym and I get to still do a bit of running. So it’s kind of a happy medium.”
****
Tuthill is studying to become a maths and biology teacher in UCD and has two years left on her course. She was supposed to commence her placement in Dublin last month but her scholarship programme is accommodating her to hit pause on her academic schedule while business in Tokyo takes precedence. She even decided to leave her books at home for the duration.
Adapting to the humidity has been a challenge on what is her first trip to Asia, but she’s learning to acclimatise after two weeks in Japan’s capital city. Being in the team hotel, and seeing competitors from other nations start to arrive has helped her to settle too.
What awaits her in the Japan National Stadium is now becoming more real. A West Cork woman’s graph is set to rise again.
“It’s a whole different environment and the weather and everything’s different. But for me, I’m always looking to do better and I’m always edging for that PB and to get that bit more out of myself. So for sure, I’d love to get a PB, but you just never know in a championship environment. So I’m just kind of hoping to throw close to my best and hopefully then I’ll be happy.”
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Athletics Hammer The Hammer Hammer Throw Nicola Tuthill West Cork World Athletics Championships