Once last summer’s Paris Olympics became a realistic possibility for Nicola Tuthill, her only option was to go for broke. There could no holding back, financial or otherwise, if she was to seal one of the last of the 32 spots in the women’s hammer.
Tuthill had long enjoyed the support of her parents, Norman and Colette (her father built a hammer-throwing cage on the family dairy farm just outside of Bandon in Co Cork), but the final rush for Paris would not come cheap.
Which is where the Jerry Kiernan Foundation came in, Tuthill named among the financial award recipients last April at a time when she didn’t yet qualify for any funding from Sport Ireland.
“All summer long I was travelling abroad trying to build up the ranking points, to get to Paris,” she says. “And that’s why I was so lucky to have the Jerry Kiernan Foundation to help me with funding, because I did have so many expenses in terms of travelling.
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“At UCD [where Tuthill is on an Ad Astra scholarship, studying teaching], they also allowed me to sit my exams early, allowing me to travel more. Having so many different people supporting me like that made all the difference. So come the end of July, I was sitting in a good spot, and at the National Championships it was just a case of one more good throw.”
Once in Paris, Tuthill was the youngest competitor in the women’s hammer and yet surpassed many expectations when she ended up ranked 16th of the 32, her best throw of 69.90m just short of her lifetime best of 70.32m.
“It was pretty surreal, actually. Being the youngest, I was used to watching most of the others on TV last year. So also a little intimidating, but an amazing experience to be a part of. It definitely gives you a taster, and I came back from Paris absolutely raring to go, so motivated for training. I definitely want to get back there again, and hopefully can keep improving.”
On Tuesday, Tuthill was again named among the 12 Jerry Kiernan Foundation award recipients for 2025. Set up in late 2021 to honour Kiernan, who died suddenly in January 2021, the foundation is funded exclusively through donations and sponsorship.
Tuthill has also qualified for Sport Ireland funding this year, on an international grant of €18,000, and continues to break new ground in Irish women’s hammer throwing. At last month’s European Throwing Cup in Cyprus she won gold in the under-23 event, having won silver the previous two years, the first Irish winner in an event which has been running since 2001.
[ Ireland’s Nicola Tuthill wins under-23 hammer gold at European Throwing CupOpens in new window ]
“I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but after two silvers, the two years before, I was really hungry for gold, and that moment at the top of the podium. Like, I’d never heard the national anthem played for me before, and I really wanted to experience that.”
As well as the European Under-23 Championships to target in Norway in July, Tuthill will also be hoping to continue her progress into the World Championships in Tokyo in September. She remains second on the Irish senior all-time list behind national record holder Eileen O’Keeffe, who threw 73.21m in Santry back in 2007.
Last November at the Irish Olympic centennial ball, Tuthill and O’Keeffe met for the first time. O’Keeffe had famously trained herself after her brother picked up an athletics DVD in the local pound shop. She also built her own hammer cage at home in Kilkenny.
For Tuthill, that Irish record may come soon, her only focus now to keep improving. “I still love all the training, it’s one of my favourite parts of the day. It can get lonely at times, but I have my family and coaches supporting me, and I do prefer to train on my own, just me and my coach.
“And all the funding really helps along the way. I would have watched athletics on TV all the time when I was younger, and Jerry was such a standout commentator. It’s a lovely foundation to be a part of.”
Jerry Kiernan Foundation athletes 2025: Hugh Armstrong – marathon/half marathon; Dara Donoghue – 800m; Shona Heaslip – marathon; Oisín Joyce – javelin; Bori Akinola – 100m; Ryan Creech – marathon/half marathon; Joe Doody – 400m; Ciara Neville – 100m/200m; Keelan Kilrehill – 5km/3km; Nicola Tuthill – hammer; John Fitzsimons – 800m; Charlie O’Donovan – 1,500m
