Irish Throwers bound for European Athletics Throwing Cup in Portugal
Athletics Ireland have selected a Team of 8 athletes to represent Ireland at the European Throwing Cup on March 12th and 13th in Leiria Portugal.
Eric Favors (Raheny Shamrock AC) and John Kelly (Finn Valley AC) will go in the Senior Shot-Put competition. Favors set the National Shot-Put Record of 19.84m while competing stateside at the start of this year while also putting in an impressive performance at the Mill Rose Games in New York. At last month's Irish Life Health National Senior Indoor Championships, he set a Championships Record of 19.48m.
John Kelly has been competing in Sweden throughout February, setting an indoor PB of 18.46m at the Kultävling competition.
In the Senior Men’s Discus, Eoin Sheridan (Clonliffe Harriers AC) has had a strong season start at the Växjö Indoor meet with 52.73m in early February. At the Dunboyne Winter Throws competition Sheridan advanced on that with a throw 53.52m.
In the U23 Men’s Shot-put James Kelly (Finn Valley AC) will represent Team Ireland. Kelly came third at the recent European Athletics DNA Shot-Put competition at the start of February before taking Silver and a new PB of 17.33m from the Irish Life Health National Senior Indoor Championships at the end of the month.
Conor Cusack (Lake District AC) is set for the Javelin after an impressive 2021 season, the 20-year-old holds the National U20 Record of 72.13m and represented Ireland at the European Athletics U20 Championships in Estonia last summer coming 7th in his pool.
Michaela Walsh (Swinford AC) takes on both the Senior Women’s Shot Put and Hammer. Walsh recently took top spot in the Shot-Put at the Irish Life Health National Indoor Championships. At the AAI Games, Walsh secured both her new PB of 15.47m and a first-place finish. In the Hammer it will be a debut performance of the season for the Mayo woman, after a busy 2021 season filled with podium finishes, she will be looking to build on her successes
Niamh Fogarty (Raheny Shamrock AC) will tackle the Senior Women’s Discus. She has had an impressive start to her season with a silver medal at in Växjö, Sweden in early February. She had a strong season throughout 2021 representing Ireland at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Estonia coming 13th and the European Throwing Cup coming 8th with 50.99m in the U23 competition.
Nicola Tuthill (Bandon AC) will go in the U23 Hammer Throw. At the Dunboyne Winter Throws she reached the qualifying standard distance of 60.92m for the World U20 Championships later this year. Tuthill represented Ireland at the 2021 European Throwing Cup in Croatia where she came second in her pool at 60.67m.