Mona McSharry made a remarkable start at the Paris La Défense Arena on Sunday, securing herself a spot in the semi-finals of the 100 metres breaststroke following an impressive initial swim. Despite placing second in the last round of the Olympic heats, her result of 1:05.74 was sufficient for advancement. Tang Qianting of China, the current world champion, outranked her slightly with a timing of 1:05.63. Yet, victorious nonetheless, Mona McSharry was just short of breaking her Irish record, 1:05.55, set the previous year.
Turning in the fourth fastest time was Tatjana Smith of South Africa, outperforming all athletes in the fourth heat with a time of 1:05:00. Even so, Mona McSharry ranked third overall, and her performance gives her a promising chance of making it to the final later tonight at 8.10 Irish time.
This morning’s semi-final saw Tang and McSharry starting side by side in lane four and three, respectively. McSharry was in third place halfway through the race, but finished strong in the final 50 metres, closing the gap between her and her Chinese competitor.
McSharry, hailing from Sligo and aged 23, has previous experience racing in an Olympic final. She made history by being the first Irish swimmer after Michelle de Bruin to achieve such a distinction when she competed in the 100m breaststroke final in Tokyo, clocking 1:06:94 and finishing eighth.
McSharry’s excellent physical condition is evident from her performance in Paris, managing to break the 1:06 mark for the first time this year. During the World Championships held in Doha in February, she secured the fifth slot in the 100m and 200m breaststroke finals, missing out on a 100m medal by a mere 0.5 seconds.
Last June, McSharry exceeded her own record in the 200m by over two seconds, with a time of 2:2.49, thus qualifying for a second race in Paris. More updates to follow.