It’s over in seconds. Nicola Tuthill makes three full, quick turns of her body in the circle before flinging the 4kg hammer as far as she can.
It’s a routine she has repeated again and again, ever since her dad Norman built her a hammer cage on the family dairy farm at Baurleigh, located between Kilbrittain and Bandon, back in 2019.
Now, she is looking forward to taking that much-practiced scenario in the rolling Cork countryside to the biggest stage of all—the Olympic Games in Paris—at the tender age of just 20. And you can tell there is still a slight air of disbelief because 2028 was the original target.
However, 2024 has proved to be a real breakthrough year for Nicola, breaking 70 metres for the first time. She is now second on the Irish all-time list behind Eileen O’Keeffe, who sent her a message of congratulations when her Olympics qualification came through. She also made the final of her first European Senior Championships earlier this summer, finishing a hugely creditable ninth in Rome.
Clad in her Olympics top with some of her many medals hanging on the door of a nearby press in the kitchen, Nicola is only days away from flying out ahead of her competition kicking off in the Stade de France on 2 August.
“Originally, at the start of the year, the goal was to get to the Senior Europeans and try and break the 70m, and once I hit them and got there, the possibility of the Olympics opened up. It was always in the background, like, ‘Oh, that would be great’.
She didn’t quite dare to dream, but as the weeks went by, the possibility increased. “To be going to the Olympics now is topping it off,” she says, smiling.
“I was down in the yard. I was clipping my horse,” explains the UCD student when her mother rang to tell her the good news.
“I still can’t believe it,” her proud mother, Colette, adds. “That Tuesday, I kept refreshing the rankings, and sure enough, she was within the quota (of 32).”
Surreal day
Colette continues, “I was saying, ‘Oh my God’. It was a bit surreal that day. The three of us sitting on the stairs, saying, ‘Oh my God’.”
Nicola jokes that the news really became “real,” when she picked up her Olympics uniform and gear a few days before our visit.
“I had my little fashion show when I came home, and I sat everyone down, parading in and out in every single outfit,” she laughs with a lovely excitement.
“We’d always be glued to the TV when the Olympics were on,” says Nicola of her childhood years. Her mother Colette quips in that she remembers alarms being set for the middle of the night by Nicola and her sisters Olivia and Aoife to catch different athletes in action over the years.
Aged around 9, the young Cork woman’s athletics journey began running for Bandon AC alongside her siblings. She tried the hammer at an athletics summer camp at 12.
“Then I was at my neighbour Kevin’s daughter’s communion, and I was just joking around that I was going to try the hammer.
“He brought in his hammer and said he used to do it. He said he’d coach me if I liked it, so it started from there.”
Nicola Tuthill with her parents Colette and Norman at home on the farm at Baurleigh, Bandon, Co Cork.\ Donal O' Leary
Cage at home
Nicola combined running and the hammer to great success for several years, but in 2019, she made the decision to concentrate on the hammer, something that coincided with dad Norman building a cage at home.
It came about partly because of practical necessity, as her mother and sisters were crossing to the other side of town three or four times a week to training with Nicola.
“It was taking a lot of time, and they were wondering if we could do something here, and they kept pushing until they got something,” her proud dad laughs.
“I put down a bit of concrete and put in the circle,” he explains, and with the help of a friend, got nets to go around it. “It turned out grand after,” says Norman, who milks 200 cows on the farm.
Her mother, Colette, adds that if the hammer got stuck in the cage (in Bandon), they’d have to go to her cousin’s B&B to get ladders to get it down. “It could go on for hours.”
Having the facility beside her home was a godsend for Nicola, especially during the lockdowns. “That was the lovely thing during COVID-19; everything was closed, but I had the cage right here,” she says, “and we could send throwing videos to my coach so I could keep improving.” Nicola won her first national senior title in 2020 at 16.
Her mother jokes about her part trudging through the field in the winter to collect the strewn hammers 70 metres away, puffing and panting all the way.
Watched by her beloved ponies Polo and Holly, the markers in the field have gotten further and further away, showing that the hard work has paid off. However, there were times in the past when the hammer ended up in the driveway or stuck in the cage, and a loader was needed to get it down! Thankfully, those scenarios have become less as her technique has improved.
Hammer appeal
Asked why the hammer appeals to her, she replies: “It’s something different, I guess. I quite like the fact that there is a lot that comes with it. It’s very technical, which can be quite frustrating because if you do the tiniest thing wrong, the hammer can end up in the cage.
“It can get to you at times, but I quite like that there is always something you can improve on.”
She also enjoys the variety of training that comes with it; gymwork, sprinting for speed, and the technical aspects of throwing and footwork.
While it’s “full on” combining training, often nine times a week, with her science studies at UCD during 8am to 8pm days, Nicola says it helps a lot that everything is in one place on campus.
Currently on an Ad Astra scholarship, she hails the support from the programme, along with her parents and sisters, coach Killian Barry, gym coach Roland Korom, Athletics Ireland and the Jerry Kiernan Foundation, who have all played a huge part in her journey to date. Nicola hopes to specialise in biology and maths with a view to going down the teaching route in the future.
Although she had competed at the European U20, European U23, World U20s and European Team Games, making her first senior European Championships in Rome last month was a special milestone. All the more so, she says, because of the Irish support out there and the feel-good factor around Irish athletics at present.
“Making a final was a big bonus for me. At the time, it was my second furthest throw in qualifying, so to be able to bring that out on the big day was quite special for me. To get into that final and get that experience was great,” she says.
Knowing that hammer throwers generally don’t peak until their late 20s or older – the silver medal winner in Rome was 38 – Nicola hopes to excel in the sport for many years to come.
“I haven’t put any expectation or figure on it. I just want to throw close to my best and see where that takes me,” she says of Paris. “I’ll be the youngest in the hammer out there, so just to go out there, experience it all and perform close to my best is my aim.”
Ideally, she hopes to get to several Olympics, but the wise head on young shoulders knows that you never know what is around the corner with sport, and she has to grasp the opportunity when it comes.
“To be going there this year is amazing, and I’ll keep working and hopefully improving in the future,” she ends with a quietly determined smile that you know she really means it.
Cork's Nicola Tuthill is preparing to compete in her first Olympics. \ Donal O' Leary
• What makes a good throw: “It used to be that you had to be really strong but that’s beginning to change recently which is good. After that, it’s about getting a good rhythm I guess with the hammer, getting your turns and getting it out straight and not into the cage.
• The pressure of three throws to get to a final in a major championships: “It’s very condensed and you have to get it right early on. It is quite pressurised but it’s the same for everyone.”
• Encouraging more girls to try the hammer: “I’d always say try every event because I started with running but ended up with throwing. Until you try it, you just don’t know if you’ll like it or if it will be the one for you.”
It’s over in seconds. Nicola Tuthill makes three full, quick turns of her body in the circle before flinging the 4kg hammer as far as she can.
It’s a routine she has repeated again and again, ever since her dad Norman built her a hammer cage on the family dairy farm at Baurleigh, located between Kilbrittain and Bandon, back in 2019.
Now, she is looking forward to taking that much-practiced scenario in the rolling Cork countryside to the biggest stage of all—the Olympic Games in Paris—at the tender age of just 20. And you can tell there is still a slight air of disbelief because 2028 was the original target.
However, 2024 has proved to be a real breakthrough year for Nicola, breaking 70 metres for the first time. She is now second on the Irish all-time list behind Eileen O’Keeffe, who sent her a message of congratulations when her Olympics qualification came through. She also made the final of her first European Senior Championships earlier this summer, finishing a hugely creditable ninth in Rome.
Clad in her Olympics top with some of her many medals hanging on the door of a nearby press in the kitchen, Nicola is only days away from flying out ahead of her competition kicking off in the Stade de France on 2 August.
“Originally, at the start of the year, the goal was to get to the Senior Europeans and try and break the 70m, and once I hit them and got there, the possibility of the Olympics opened up. It was always in the background, like, ‘Oh, that would be great’.
She didn’t quite dare to dream, but as the weeks went by, the possibility increased. “To be going to the Olympics now is topping it off,” she says, smiling.
“I was down in the yard. I was clipping my horse,” explains the UCD student when her mother rang to tell her the good news.
“I still can’t believe it,” her proud mother, Colette, adds. “That Tuesday, I kept refreshing the rankings, and sure enough, she was within the quota (of 32).”
Surreal day
Colette continues, “I was saying, ‘Oh my God’. It was a bit surreal that day. The three of us sitting on the stairs, saying, ‘Oh my God’.”
Nicola jokes that the news really became “real,” when she picked up her Olympics uniform and gear a few days before our visit.
“I had my little fashion show when I came home, and I sat everyone down, parading in and out in every single outfit,” she laughs with a lovely excitement.
“We’d always be glued to the TV when the Olympics were on,” says Nicola of her childhood years. Her mother Colette quips in that she remembers alarms being set for the middle of the night by Nicola and her sisters Olivia and Aoife to catch different athletes in action over the years.
Aged around 9, the young Cork woman’s athletics journey began running for Bandon AC alongside her siblings. She tried the hammer at an athletics summer camp at 12.
“Then I was at my neighbour Kevin’s daughter’s communion, and I was just joking around that I was going to try the hammer.
“He brought in his hammer and said he used to do it. He said he’d coach me if I liked it, so it started from there.”
Nicola Tuthill with her parents Colette and Norman at home on the farm at Baurleigh, Bandon, Co Cork.\ Donal O' Leary
Cage at home
Nicola combined running and the hammer to great success for several years, but in 2019, she made the decision to concentrate on the hammer, something that coincided with dad Norman building a cage at home.
It came about partly because of practical necessity, as her mother and sisters were crossing to the other side of town three or four times a week to training with Nicola.
“It was taking a lot of time, and they were wondering if we could do something here, and they kept pushing until they got something,” her proud dad laughs.
“I put down a bit of concrete and put in the circle,” he explains, and with the help of a friend, got nets to go around it. “It turned out grand after,” says Norman, who milks 200 cows on the farm.
Her mother, Colette, adds that if the hammer got stuck in the cage (in Bandon), they’d have to go to her cousin’s B&B to get ladders to get it down. “It could go on for hours.”
Having the facility beside her home was a godsend for Nicola, especially during the lockdowns. “That was the lovely thing during COVID-19; everything was closed, but I had the cage right here,” she says, “and we could send throwing videos to my coach so I could keep improving.” Nicola won her first national senior title in 2020 at 16.
Her mother jokes about her part trudging through the field in the winter to collect the strewn hammers 70 metres away, puffing and panting all the way.
Watched by her beloved ponies Polo and Holly, the markers in the field have gotten further and further away, showing that the hard work has paid off. However, there were times in the past when the hammer ended up in the driveway or stuck in the cage, and a loader was needed to get it down! Thankfully, those scenarios have become less as her technique has improved.
Hammer appeal
Asked why the hammer appeals to her, she replies: “It’s something different, I guess. I quite like the fact that there is a lot that comes with it. It’s very technical, which can be quite frustrating because if you do the tiniest thing wrong, the hammer can end up in the cage.
“It can get to you at times, but I quite like that there is always something you can improve on.”
She also enjoys the variety of training that comes with it; gymwork, sprinting for speed, and the technical aspects of throwing and footwork.
While it’s “full on” combining training, often nine times a week, with her science studies at UCD during 8am to 8pm days, Nicola says it helps a lot that everything is in one place on campus.
Currently on an Ad Astra scholarship, she hails the support from the programme, along with her parents and sisters, coach Killian Barry, gym coach Roland Korom, Athletics Ireland and the Jerry Kiernan Foundation, who have all played a huge part in her journey to date. Nicola hopes to specialise in biology and maths with a view to going down the teaching route in the future.
Although she had competed at the European U20, European U23, World U20s and European Team Games, making her first senior European Championships in Rome last month was a special milestone. All the more so, she says, because of the Irish support out there and the feel-good factor around Irish athletics at present.
“Making a final was a big bonus for me. At the time, it was my second furthest throw in qualifying, so to be able to bring that out on the big day was quite special for me. To get into that final and get that experience was great,” she says.
Knowing that hammer throwers generally don’t peak until their late 20s or older – the silver medal winner in Rome was 38 – Nicola hopes to excel in the sport for many years to come.
“I haven’t put any expectation or figure on it. I just want to throw close to my best and see where that takes me,” she says of Paris. “I’ll be the youngest in the hammer out there, so just to go out there, experience it all and perform close to my best is my aim.”
Ideally, she hopes to get to several Olympics, but the wise head on young shoulders knows that you never know what is around the corner with sport, and she has to grasp the opportunity when it comes.
“To be going there this year is amazing, and I’ll keep working and hopefully improving in the future,” she ends with a quietly determined smile that you know she really means it.
Cork's Nicola Tuthill is preparing to compete in her first Olympics. \ Donal O' Leary
• What makes a good throw: “It used to be that you had to be really strong but that’s beginning to change recently which is good. After that, it’s about getting a good rhythm I guess with the hammer, getting your turns and getting it out straight and not into the cage.
• The pressure of three throws to get to a final in a major championships: “It’s very condensed and you have to get it right early on. It is quite pressurised but it’s the same for everyone.”
• Encouraging more girls to try the hammer: “I’d always say try every event because I started with running but ended up with throwing. Until you try it, you just don’t know if you’ll like it or if it will be the one for you.”
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