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Mona McSharry has won a stunning Olympic bronze medal in the final of the Women’s 100m Breaststroke at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
In doing so McSharry becomes Team Ireland’s first medallist at these Olympic Games and swimming’s first medallist since 1996.
McSharry stormed to third in a time of 1:05.59. South Africa’s Tatjana Smith won gold in 1:05.28, with China’s Qianting Tang taking silver in 1:05.54. There was a joint fourth place for USA’s Lily King and Benedetta Pilato just one hundredth of a second behind McSharry in 1:05.60.
McSharry, who trains at University of Tennessee, becomes the first Irish swimmer to win an Olympic medal in 28 years, and notably the first Irish swimmer to ever win an Olympic breaststroke medal.
Speaking directly afterwards McSharry said, “I’m very excited! I don’t think it’s fully sunk in yet that I’ve actually won a medal! I think once I get up on the podium it’ll all become really real but I think it’s just amazing because it’s years of hard work that have paid off and it just feels amazing!”
Asked what she thought when she saw the result she said, “A little bit of relief, a little bit of wow – okay this is actually happening! Then just really excited to be in that position.”
Reflecting on the story of the race itself, she said, “I could see the Chinese girl beside me so I knew that she was ahead of me so I was like I need to try and catch her because if she’s ahead then I don’t know what’s going on, on the other side – I can’t see that. I had a bad first fifty – my goggles filled up with water a little bit so not a perfect race but it just shows you’re in it until the end and you just have to keep going – I was like ‘I’m not giving up, I’m going, I’m going’ and I think it was 0.01 between me and the next swimmers so that’s kind of crazy, but that’s what racing is about – close finishes!”
Speaking after the medal ceremony McSharry said, “I started crying on the podium and I haven’t really fully started believing yet, so, it’s just unbelievable. I think it’s just the pinnacle of sport to have all your hard work pay off in something like this at this moment.”
McSharry returns to the pool on Wednesday for the heats of the 200m Breaststroke.
Ellen Walshe, swimming in her first Olympic Final, was eighth in the 400m Individual Medley in 4:40.70. The Templeogue native is just the third Irish swimmer to compete in an Olympic Final.
Speaking after the race Walshe said, “I think when you look at the overall outcome, like I’m Olympic finalist, Not many people are able to say that and yeah, I would have liked a stronger swim tonight and they thought I had a little bit more in me then this morning, but I think I tried to race the race beside me, rather then my own race at the start, so probably paid for it a little bit.”
Walshe is back in the pool on Friday for the heats of the 200m Individual Medley.
In the Women’s 100m Backstroke, Danielle Hill, swimming in her first Olympic Semi-Final clocked 1:00.80, for eighth place and sixteenth overall, just outside the 1:00.40 she posted in Monday morning’s preliminaries.
Commenting after the race Hill said, “Listen, of course I’m frustrated. I know where my best time puts me in that, but it’s on the day that matters. Felt a little bit heavy in the back half, so I haven’t seen anything except for the time and the finish, so I can’t really be too critical about it, because I haven’t broken it down. I wouldn’t say disappointed because I know everything I’ve done to be here, what I went through. I’ve left no stone unturned and unfortunately sometimes that is sport. I stand here proud of myself, I’m an Olympic semi-finalist, and that’s the guts of it. Of course, the time could have been better but that’s the guts of it.”
Hill will be back in action on Saturday in the 50m Freestyle and will then lead off the Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay.
Daniel Wiffen will be the sole Irish swimmer in action on Tuesday in the Final of the Men’s 800m Freestyle. Wiffen is the fastest qualifier in the event in 7:41.53.
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