Irish champion Ceola McGowan retains world axe-throwing crown in UK

Ceola McGowan held on to the title that made her one of the sport’s defining names, winning the World Double Bit Axe Throwing Championships at Thirsk in North Yorkshire and proving that staying on top may be harder than reaching the summit. The Co Sligo thrower, who lives in Co Wicklow, again beat an international field on 25 August 2024 and left with another world crown, plus a silver medal in the women’s team event alongside Oonagh McMorrow and Jenn Montrose.

For McGowan, the defense carried the real weight. She won the same championship in 2022, when the biennial event was held in Barrington, Canada, and this latest victory showed how narrow the margins have become as the women’s field deepens. McGowan said the conditions in Thirsk made the contest especially severe. "I'm honestly still in shock! This was one of the hardest competitions I've ever done," she said, pointing to gale-force winds and the much higher standard of throwing around her.

That combination of weather and rising quality is part of the story now. Axe throwing has moved far beyond novelty status, and the structures around it have expanded with the talent pool. The International Axe Throwing Federation, established in 2016, says it now represents more than 20,000 league members across over 150 cities in nine countries. The World Axe Throwing League, established in 2017, says it has more than 300 affiliated venues in 20 countries. In a sport still settling into its global identity, repeated excellence is becoming the hardest skill of all.

McGowan’s own path underlines how quickly the level has climbed. She first picked up an axe in 2018 and trains with Wicklow Axe Throwers in Newtown Mount Kennedy, building the kind of repeatable mechanics that travel across venues, conditions and pressure moments. She has also said her pole-dancing training has helped with core strength, flexibility and confidence, a reminder that the modern champion is often built from unusual cross-training as much as from competition itself.

McGowan has said she hopes the win will inspire more women to take up the sport, and her latest title defense gives that message extra force. In a rapidly growing international circuit, the standard is no longer just about winning once. It is about proving it again when the winds are up, the field is stronger and every throw is watched as a benchmark.