The Sligo swimmer finished 2^nd in her heat and 20^th overall in a time of 2:25.08.

Entering this event ranked 28^th (compared to 11^th for the 100m), McSharry swam a super race but her time was not quite enough to see her progress to the semi-finals.

“It felt really good,” she said afterwards. “I didn’t burn up and sometimes, you can swim a good 200m and it burns and sometimes it doesn’t so I never really know what feels like a good time – so to turn around and see a 2:25.08 and a new PB is amazing.

“This isn’t an event I am focusing on at the moment, I definitely want to in the future but to be able to just put out times like that and put together a good race is really great. And if that’s the way that ends this competition then I’m really happy with that.”

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Mona McSharry became the first Irish swimmer to take part in an Olympic final since Michelle Smith in 1996.

McSharry came eighth in the final but Quinn was full of praise for the 20-year-old, who made her dreams come true.

“All these experiences are going to stand to Mona as she moves forward in her career because let’s be clear, this is only a step in Mona’s journey,” Quinn said on his daily review show.

The Irish senior record holder can add Olympic finalist to an already-impressive resumé that includes a World Championship in the 100m Breastroke and high finishes at senior European Championships.

At only 20 years of age, McSharry has her whole career ahead of her and can become an even better swimmer over time.

McSharry swam the final in 1:06.9 and Quinn feels there are a lot of positives she can take from her performance.

“Her dive was probably the best dive she’s done across the three rounds. She turned a 50 in 31.6, which was the same time she turned at the 50 in the semi-final.”

However, he feels that the University of Tennessee student used up the majority of her energy too early and it’s what cost her on the latter 50m.

McSharry’s run to becoming only the second Irish person to swim in an Olympic final has caught the eye of the Irish public.

The Sligo native was the third-youngest woman in the final and, at her age, could have several more Olympic appearances on the cards in the future, form permitting.

Olympian Quinn described the Olympic finalist as an inspiration for a generation.

“Mona won’t realise the impact she has had on others yet, but she will in years to come.”

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The 20-year-old McSharry had already made history by being the first Irish swimmer to make an Olympic final since Michelle Smith in 1996.

She came into the race as the slowest swimmer in the semi-finals but knew that she could knock at least another two tenths of a second from her time based on her national record and personal best.

The young swimmer was also to face the Olympic record holder, USA’s Lily King and the World record holder, South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker.

As McSharry had said herself after the semi-final, the medals are up for grabs and the winners would have to earn them in the final.

So proud of #Sligo girl #MonaMcSharry !Congrats on a superb swim. Three races under 1.07 secs. Worth getting up at 3am for. #Olympics #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/RMKtoFD1Z6

— Sorcha Crowley (@sorcgirl) July 27, 2021

Women’s 100m Breaststroke – Tokyo Aquatic Centre – 27th August

At 03:17 McSharry lined up on the blocks beside the best of the best in world swimming, starting in lane eight.

The Sligo swimmer swam another consistent race but it was not enough to beat the world class line up. She managed a time of 1:06.94, only less than half a second slower than her qualifying time.

This final is where the USA athletes turned on their class with 17-year-old Lydia Jacoby grabbing a surprise gold medal in a time of 1:04.95.

She was followed by South African Schoenmaker for silver and USA’s King taking the bronze medal.

#Swimming

Mona McSharry gives it everything in the 100m Breaststroke final to post yet another sub 67 seconds swim

Ireland's first Olympic swimming Final in 25 years. She finished 8th and is back Wednesday for 200m Breaststroke heats!#TeamIreland #Tokyo2020 @swimireland pic.twitter.com/V8ncBB66JU

— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) July 27, 2021

McSharry understandably left the pool with mixed emotions, hoping to have clocked in a faster time but also very proud to have been there.

As the third youngest women in the race with winner Jacoby and Russia’s Evgeniia Chikunova, the future is looking very bright for her.

The next Olympics in Paris is only three years away and McSharry has now left her mark on the swimming world showing that she means business with the rest of her career.

Her Olympics are still not over as she will now compete in the 200m breaststroke heats on Wednesday.

This is still a major achievement for someone who only took up swimming at the age of five because she fell into a lake in Austria, needing her father to rescue her, so her parents wanted her to be able to swim.

McSharry has made her country proud as one of Ireland’s best swimmers to date and we can only expect more from the 20-year-old Sligo star.

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For the first time in 25 years, Team Ireland will have a swimmer in an Olympic final.

Mona McSharry booked her spot in the Tokyo 2020 100m Breaststroke final on Monday morning.

The 20-year-old from Grange in Sligo touched the wall in fourth place in her semi-final. She swam a time of 1:06.59 to qualify for the Olympic final in 8th place.

Michelle Smith in 1996 was the last time an Irish swimmer achieved this accolade.

Coming in ahead of her in her semi-final were World Record-holder Lily King from the US, Tatjana Schoenmaker from South Africa, who set an Olympic Record in the heats, and Martina Carraro from Italy, who holds the World Record in the 50m Breaststroke.

McSharry was ranked 11th coming into the event and has now moved up three places in the rankings, finishing 9th in the heats and 8th in the semi-finals. Her lifetime best, the Irish Senior Record, is 1:06.29.

The Sligo native is now based at the University of Tennessee, and was the 2017 FINA World Junior Champion and LEN European Junior Champion in 100m Breaststroke. She was also a medallist.

Mona McSharry is into the final of the 100m breaststroke – and here's how she did it https://t.co/WFDXLLAsrL #Tokyo2020 #RTESport #Olympics pic.twitter.com/SWtkyXW2VO

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 26, 2021

McSharry said:

“I’m over the moon. I knew it was going to be tough. I’m just so happy to get another opportunity to race tomorrow.

“It was 0.2 slower (than the heats), but considering I got to bed quite late last night, and I was a bit groggy this morning, I’m not surprised about that. I’m happier with how the race felt, so I’m hoping I can pull the two together and swim a fast time (in the final).

She added: “It’s been amazing. Yesterday I was having lunch by myself and some other Irish person I didn’t know, Philip, a rower, came over and sat beside me and the two of us had lunch together.

“That’s really nice if you don’t have your swimming teammates there, to be able to look around and see other Irish people and sit with them and chat. That’s the great thing about the Irish spirit as well, we are very close as a nation.”

‘This is my first event ever at the Olympics and I made it into the Final!

Mona McSharry tries her best to tell RTE Sport how it feels to be a Tokyo 2020 Olympic Finalist

Madness pic.twitter.com/NHnRFxnBAb

— Swim Ireland (@swimireland) July 26, 2021

The 100m Breaststroke final takes place on Tuesday morning at 03:17 Irish time. Team Ireland has two swimming heats still to come on Monday.

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The Sligo native’s strong swim of 1:06.39 for third place in her heat was just shy of her PB of 1:06.29. Her 9th place finish overall qualifies her for tomorrow’s semi-final.

 “I really burned coming up the last 25m,” McSharry admitted. “I could see the Swiss coming up the right of me. I thought she almost had me, but I really pushed the last 10m. It’s really nice to be competing against great swimmers that are breaking records like that and say that you were in the same race as them.”

Danielle Hill was also in action on Sunday in the Women’s 100m Backstroke heat. She posted a time of 1:00.86 for 3rd place in her heat. She finished in 25th position overall.

Speaking afterwards, Hill said:

“I’m a little disappointed with how it went. I would have liked to perform a little bit better, especially given that it is an evening swim. At the same time, I’m proud to put the Irish hat on and represent Larne as well.”

Boxing

Emmet Brennan was the only Irish boxer in action on Sunday. The Dubliner lost out by unanimous decision in his Men’s Light Heavy Round of 32 bout against Dilshod Ruzmetov of Uzbekeztan.

World silver medallist, Ruzmetov, had a strong opening round, and though Brennan put the pressure on in the second round, Ruzmetov finished strong to progress to the next stage.

Speaking after the fight, Brennan said:

“I’m gutted. It’s an Olympic Games, you come here to win and ultimately, I was beaten in the first fight. He was a good opponent, but a loss is never easy – especially on the biggest occasion in the world. You want to go as far as you can, you know you need a best night every fight and I didn’t have my best night – it’s as simple as that.”  

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Obviously, ambitions are high that the country will do better than this in Tokyo in 2021. To help this become a reality, Ireland has even sought inspiration from New Zealand, a country with a similar population but which has won almost as many medals in the last 20 years – 51 – as we have in the past 96.

While we may be some way off becoming a sporting powerhouse like New Zealand, there are some very good prospects across a number of disciplines, including these three.

Thomas Barr – Athletics

The Waterford 400m runner is arguably Ireland’s only true world-class athlete at the moment and at 28 this could be his final Olympics. So he’ll be hoping to improve on his fourth-place finish at Rio in 2016. With athletics being one of the most popular of the Olympic events at sports betting sites such as Mr Green Betting, you can be sure that many will be taking advantage of this simple and convenient way to back him. With a range of different wagers available, including spread betting and flexi-betting as well as a wide number of markets available, the site will also be anticipating a great deal of betting action across all 33 Olympic sports.

Mona McSharry – Swimming

Ever since the very appropriately-named Jon Rudd was appointed as High Performance Director of Ireland’s swimming team, there has been distinct upturn in its fortunes. One of the brightest of the rising stars is the 20-year-old Mona McSharry. In 2017 she became the junior world champion in the 400m breast-stroke at the finals in Indianapolis. Since then she’s tasted victory of another kind having been a winner, along with brother Mouric and parents Aiden and Viola, in the seventh series of the RTE reality show Ireland’s Fittest Family.

Bertram Allen – Equestrian

Equestrian is one sport in which Ireland can certainly consider itself to have under-achieved on the Olympic stage. But just as Jon Rudd has transformed the fortunes of the swimming team, the appointment of Roderigo Pessoa as chef d’équipe for the show jumpers is already having the same effect. A key member of the team will be Bertram Allen – the youngest-ever winner of a prestigious Longines Grand Prix back when he was just 23. Three years later he surely stands a chance of being in the medals both as an individual and as a team member in Tokyo 2021.

There are many others to look out for across other sports with one of the brightest prospects being the young gymnast Rhys McClenaghan who many see as a future world beater. So here’s looking forward to the games, and hearing Amhrán na bhFiann being played at more medal ceremonies than ever before.

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