“This is my first event ever in the Olympics and I’ve made a final.”
Congratulations are in order for Irish swimmer Mona McSharry has become the second Irish swimmer to ever make an Olympic final.
McSharry, who hails from Sligo, finished fourth in her semi-finals of the women’s 100m breaststroke in Tokyo this morning.
Her time came in at 1:06:59, which is just 0.3 seconds shy of her Irish senior record.
The 20 year-old will compete in the final event tomorrow.
She told RTÉ Sport that it was “amazing” to have made it.
“This is my first event ever in the Olympics and I’ve made a final,” she said.
“With the past year and a half that everyone’s had, it’s unbelievable. No one’s given a medal before they go in. We all have a chance. I’m definitely going to go for it.”
Mona said that everyone supporting her at home must be “buzzing”, but she has her eye on getting some much needed rest ahead of the final event.
Ireland’s national governing body of swimming, Swim Ireland, congratulated Mona on her win on Twitter.
⚡️ It is real. @TeamIreland's Mona McSharry is an Olympic Finalist!
She will swim the Tokyo 2020 100m Breaststroke Final at 03:17am on Tuesday morning Irish time, taking on the World and Olympic Record holders.
Let's go Mona!! pic.twitter.com/0bPWOhSgf3
— Swim Ireland (@swimireland) July 26, 2021
They wrote: “It is real. @TeamIreland’s Mona McSharry is an Olympic Finalist!
“She will swim the Tokyo 2020 100m Breaststroke Final at 03:17 am on Tuesday morning Irish time, taking on the World and Olympic Record holders.
“Let’s go Mona!!”
While this is the Irish swimmer’s first Olympic games, McSharry currently holds a number of national records.
In 2017, at the age of 17, she became the 100m breaststroke junior champion at the World Junior Championships in Indianapolis.
That same year, she competed in the World Aquatics Championship.
It’s safe to say Mona McSharry has the entire country behind her for tomorrow morning’s event.
