A couple of years back, the physically and mentally exhausted Mona McSharry almost quit swimming. Back in the 2022 European Championships held in Rome, she secretly hoped not to qualify for another final. The reasons being the stressful anticipation and high hopes that drag along. She was delighted when the season finally ended because, according to her, she had developed a strong dislike for swimming.
Most of the pressure, she admitted, was self-imposed, given her illustrious accomplishments in Irish swimming; she holds Irish records in 14 categories, seven personal and seven in relays. Her journey in competitive swimming started at the age of seven in the Community Games. Living in the tiny hamlet of Grange in Sligo, close to the sea at Mullaghmore, her teenage years were marked by being named the future of Irish swimming. Soon she clinched national senior titles with Marlins Swim Club in Ballyshannon and narrowly missed out on the Rio Olympics in 2016 at the young age of 15.
McSharry secured a European junior gold in the 50m and 100m breaststroke in 2017, and later that year, a world junior gold in 100m breaststroke, all while her parents, Aidan and Viola, tirelessly supported her through umpteen morning practice sessions. In 2019, the McSharry family also emerged victorious in RTÉ’s Fittest Family series.
However, things took a downward turn soon after. Barely a year post making the Olympic final in the 100m breaststroke in Tokyo, as a 20-year-old – the first Irish swimmer to achieve this feat since Michelle Smith de Bruin at Atlanta in 1996 – McSharry almost gave up swimming due to self-doubt.
She decided to complete the 2022 season and consider quitting if she saw no improvement. That was without a doubt her darkest phase during her four-year swimming scholarship at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
After an extended pause and return to her roots, she admitted to undergoing a period of rest, opting out of training during the closing of August and commencement of September. Alongside her mentor, Matt Kredich, she concluded it wasn’t her time to retire but rather realise the necessity for transformation in her routine.
Though at risk of cutting her Olympic journey short, the experience had the opposite effect. On a fateful Monday inside the Paris La Défense Arena, she found herself savouring the joy of her hard-earned Bronze medal, clinched at the eleventh hour in one of the most exciting finishes to a 100m breaststroke championship event.
As she entered the Parisian waters, she carried with her a newfound freedom from past pressures. The 2023 season saw her deep-seated hunger for competition rekindled, alongside a calmer approach. The results of her efforts were evident: three top finishes at the NCAA Championships in Knoxville, and a close miss at the World Championships in Fukuoka in 2023, where she ended 0.13 seconds shy of a Bronze medal, despite leading second until the final 10m.
Her victories continued, earning her a trio of golden victories at the European Under-23 Swimming Championships in Dublin. Then, in February, she placed fifth respectively in the 100m and 200m breaststroke at the 2024 Championships in Doha, though her primary goal was to step onto the Olympic podium that year.
“I’ve reminded myself continuously throughout this past year that I’m fighting for a medal,” she shared on that historic Monday evening. This had been her intent since her 2015 discussion with coach Grace Meade in Ballyshannon, when they set their sights on 2020 as a preliminary round and the 2024 Games as the grand stage of achievement.
Times of self-doubt helped shape her perspective on the true meaning behind her efforts—the companionship of fellow athletes, witnessing her growth and improvements, and the exhilarating highs experienced at the Olympics. Such moments serve as rewarding reminders, the unexpected bonuses of her career.
Her extraordinary Olympic adventure is far from over as she’s set to return to the swimming pool on Wednesday morning for the 200m breaststroke heats.