Ireland’s throwers delivered one of their strongest collective performances in recent years at the European Throwing Cup in Nicosia, with Eric Favors and Nicola Tuthill both claiming senior medals for Ireland across the weekend.

Nicola Tuthill led the way for Ireland at the European Throwing Cup in Nicosia with a silver medal and a new personal best in the senior women’s hammer, as Eric Favors added bronze in the men’s shot put to cap a highly encouraging weekend for the Irish team.

Tuthill delivered one of the standout performances of the competition on Saturday, throwing 72.48m to take silver and move closer to Eileen O’Keeffe’s Irish record of 73.21m. The mark improved on her previous personal best of 71.75m, set in August last year, and continued her remarkable record at an event that has played a central role in her development.

The UCD athlete has endured both heartbreak and success at the European Throwing Cup. In Leiria in 2022, she suffered a fractured and dislocated elbow during the women’s U23 hammer competition. She returned the following year to become the first Irish athlete to win a medal at the event, taking silver in 2023, and repeated that achievement again in 2024. Last year in Nicosia, she made further history by becoming the first Irish gold medallist at the competition when she won the U23 hammer title.

In this year’s senior women’s hammer, Denmark’s Katrine Koch Jacobsen won gold with a national record and world-leading 75.52m, while Iceland’s Guðrún Karítas Hallgrímsdóttir took bronze with 71.41m, also a national record and personal best.

Ireland’s medal tally grew on Sunday when Olympian Eric Favors claimed bronze in the senior men’s shot put. Competing in wet and difficult conditions, the Raheny Shamrock AC athlete produced a best throw of 19.68m to finish third behind Poland’s Konrad Bukowiecki, who won with 20.43m, and Italy’s Nick Ponzio, who was second with 19.97m.

Speaking after his performance, Favors said the weekend reflected the progress being made in Irish throwing events.

“It feels unbelievable,” said Favors. “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 shot put record with the 20.93m he set in 2024, has now built strong early-season momentum after also winning gold at the 123.ie National Senior Indoor Championships with a championship record earlier this year.

There were strong supporting performances elsewhere from the Irish team in Cyprus. Anna Gavigan opened her season with a fifth-place finish in the U23 women’s discus, throwing a season’s best 51.07m. The Lambay Sports Academy athlete had also medalled at the event last year.

National record-holder Niamh Fogarty finished 14th in the senior women’s discus with a best throw of 52.70m, another solid early-season showing as she builds into the campaign.

Conor Cusack also impressed in the javelin, throwing a personal best of 75.83m to place 11th overall. The mark moves the Lake District AC athlete into third place on the Irish all-time list and rounded off a notable weekend for Ireland in Nicosia.

With Tuthill producing another breakthrough performance at senior level and Favors adding a second medal for Ireland, the European Throwing Cup offered further evidence of the growing strength and depth of Irish throwing.

 

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