Mona McSharry sets new Irish record in 200m heats at Olympic Games

MONA McSharry set a new Irish 200m breaststroke record at the Olympic Games.

McSharry finished second in her 200m breaststroke heat at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

In front until the final 50m of the heat, McSharry finished second behind Kryistyna Horska, the Czech swimmer.

McSharry was just 0.05 seconds adrift in a time of 2:25.08.

That shaves 0.84 seconds off the 2:25.92 she clocked at the Irish Olympic Trials in April, but still wasn’t enough to secure qualification for the semi-finals with only the top 16 fastest going through.  McSharry’s time saw her ranked 20th overall in the heats.

Earlier in the week, McSharry reached the final of the 100m breaststroke – her specialised event.

The 20-year-old scholarship student at University of Tennessee has been living a dream this week.

The graduate of the Marlin’s Swimming Club in Ballyshannon, who hails from nearby Grange in Co Sligo, bridged a 25-year barrier in becoming Ireland’s first Olympic swimming finalist since Michelle Smith in Atlanta 1996.

McSharry finished eighth in the final, swimming 1:06.94.

Her performances in the 100m breaststroke yielded three sub-1:06 times, outlining her belonging at the upper end of her sport.