Mona McSharry has secured a historic bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke at the Paris Olympics. The 23-year-old from Sligo turned an ordinary Monday into a memorable one by finishing third at the Paris La Défense Arena.
The arena was filled with cheering Irish fans when the results were confirmed, marking a significant moment for Irish swimming. Tatjana Smith of South Africa took the gold with a time of 1:05.28, followed by China’s Qianting Tang at 1:05.25. McSharry, who was second at the turn, finished with a time of 1:05.59, just ahead of Italy’s Benedetta Pilato.
McSharry’s journey to the bronze medal included setting a new personal best and Irish record of 1:05.51 in the semi-final. In the final, she maintained her form, with the biggest surprise being world record holder Lilly King’s lackluster performance.
This bronze medal is significant as it is Ireland’s first at the Paris Games and the first swimming medal since Michelle Smith’s in 1996. McSharry, born four years after Smith’s win, becomes Ireland’s 39th Olympic medalist since Dr. Pat O’Callaghan won the first in 1928.
“I’m very excited,” McSharry said after her win. “It hasn’t fully sunk in yet. Once I’m on the podium, it’ll feel real. Years of hard work have paid off, and it’s just amazing.”
McSharry admitted she wasn’t sure of her position at the end of the race. “I saw the Chinese girl ahead of me and thought, ‘I need to catch her.’ My goggles filled with water a bit, so it wasn’t perfect, but I just kept going.”
She recalled her start in swimming after being rescued from a lake by her father at age five. This led to her parents enrolling her in swimming classes. McSharry, a student at Tennessee University, was eighth in the Tokyo Olympics final and has consistently excelled in her sport. At 15, she narrowly missed qualifying for the Rio Olympics and has since been a European junior and world junior champion.
Earlier in the pool, Dublin’s Ellen Walshe finished eighth in the 400m individual medley final. The 22-year-old became only the third Irish swimmer to reach an Olympic final. Despite being overtaken in the final freestyle leg by Japan’s Mio Narita, Walshe gained valuable experience and looks forward to the LA Games in four years.
“I’m super excited to be here,” Walshe said. “It wasn’t the performance I dreamed of, but it was fantastic to compete. I hope to look back and say it was incredible.”
Danielle Hill also competed in the 100m backstroke but finished eighth with a time of 1:00.80, slightly slower than her heats time and outside her personal best of 59.11, missing a spot in the final.
