Mayo athlete helps Ireland secure joint third overall at European Throwing Cup
Oisín Joyce won the bronze medal in the Under 23 javelin competition to help Ireland finish joint third overall at the European Throwing Cup in Nicosia.
With medals also for Nicola Tuthill (gold in the Under 23 hammer) and Anna Gavigan (silver in the Under 23 discus), Ireland finished behind just Germany and Italy.
Joyce, a member of Lake District AC, saved his best throw for last, producing a mark of 73.86m when it mattered most to secure the bronze medal.
The south Mayo man came into the weekend ranked seventh out of the 15 competitors, having only turned 20 in late January.
Gold went to Nick Thumm (Germany) with a best throw of 77.09m, with silver going to Lucio Claudio Visca of Italy thanks to his 74.39m.
Meanwhile, Tuthill (UCD AC) made more history by becoming Ireland’s first ever champion at the 2025 European Throwing Cup. After winning silver in the Under 23 hammer in 2023 as well as 2024, the Paris Olympian finally landed gold in Nicosia with a European Under 23 leading mark of 69.74m, just shy of her lifetime best of 70.32m.
Tuthill reached 69.70m on her second attempt, a distance that came under some threat from last year’s winner Thea Löfman, who landed the hammer at 69.06m on her third attempt. However, the Swede only took one further throw – a foul - while Tuthill improved ever so slightly to 69.74m with her fifth attempt.
Löfman took the silver medal, with Germany’s Aileen Kuhn securing bronze with a best of 67.25m.
It was Anna Gavigan (Lambay Sports Academy) who set the tone for the weekend’s success, putting in the performance of life on Saturday to claim a superb silver in the Under 23 women’s discus competition. Gavigan threw a massive four-meter personal best of 53.91m to medal, a performance that moved herself up to fourth on the Irish all-time list.
France’s Marie Josee Bovele Linaka took the Under 23 discus gold with 57.37m.
Eric Favours (Raheny Shamrock AC) posted a best throw of 19.10m to finish eight in the senior men’s A shot put final, while Niamh Fogarty (Raheny Shamrock AC) posted a season’s best of 55.90m in the senior women’s discus to finish fouth in the B final.