Ireland have sent a record 134 athletes to this summers Paris Olympics across 15 sports and Sligo's Mona McSharry has kicked off the team Ireland medal haul with a fantastic performance in tonight's 100m breaststroke final to claim bronze.
In tonight's final, it was a slow start off the block but on the 50m turn McSharry surged forward into third place and finished in 1.05.59. South Africa's Tatjana Smith secured gold with a winning time of 1.05.28.
MONA!
You are an OLYMPIC MEDALLIST 🔥🥹
Bronze in the 100m Breaststroke #TeamIreland | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/aXpB1jkEV5— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) July 29, 2024
Her ticket to Paris was secured last summer after the Sligo competitor smashed her previous Irish record for the event at the World Aquatics Championships in Japan.
Three years ago in Tokyo, she became the first Irish swimmer since Michelle de Bruin to make an Olympic final when she progressed to the 100m breaststroke decider, where she finished a respectable eighth.
That result makes tonight's performance even more remarkable and shows the progress McSharry has made since the games back in 2020.
To qualify for tonight's final, McSharry clocked a time of 1:05.51, a personal best, as she again finished strongly in the final 50m to secure her place in the final. She finished second fastest overall behind South African Tatjana Smith (1.05.00).
Here's how Sligo's Mona McSharry qualified for tomorrow night's 100m breaststroke final #Paris2024 #RTEsport ☘️ pic.twitter.com/VCR8BMZkV9
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 28, 2024
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Who is Mona McSharry?
McSharry grew up in Grange, County Sligo. She is the holder of multiple national senior records including 50 m, 100 m and 200 m breaststroke. She was 11 years of age watching Lithuanian teenager Ruta Meilutyte win gold in the 100m breaststroke in London 2012, and immediately told her family that she was going to become an Olympian.
In her first season as a senior swimmer, her progress stalled after she was hit with glandular fever and sidelined for more than two months, missing out on what should have been her first World Senior Championships.
In 2019, McSharry and her family competed in the seventh series of the popular RTÉ reality competition, Ireland's Fittest Family. They won the competition under the guidance of mentor and former rugby player Donncha O'Callaghan.
To get to the top of her chosen sport necessitated tough decisions, and one came in 2019 when McSharry committed to enrol at the University of Tennessee, where coach Matt Kredich has since guided her career.
McSharry moved there in 2020 and has continued to progress ever since, resulting in tonight's excellent result.
