Mona McSharry has qualified for the Olympic final of the 100m breaststroke.
In what is her debut Olympic Games, the 20-year-old from Sligo finished fourth in the second semi-final on Monday. Starting from lane two, McSharry swam 1:06.59 to take the eighth and final place in the deciding race.
McSharry made the turn in sixth but came home strongly. She finished just 0.01 of a second ahead of Australian Chelsea Hodges in ninth. The time was also 0.3 outside her Irish senior record.
Mona McSharry Olympic semi-final race
Mona McSharry is into the final of the 100m breaststroke - and here's how she did it https://t.co/WFDXLLAsrL #Tokyo2020 #RTESport #Olympics pic.twitter.com/SWtkyXW2VO
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 26, 2021
"It's just amazing," she told RTÉ.
"This is my first event ever at the Olympics, and I made it into a final! You can't but be happy with that.
"I was on the cusp of it going in ninth. I was really just going out there to race. I'm happy to say that race felt a lot better than the one I did yesterday, so that's exciting.
"I feel a lot more confident with the way I swam that race [compared to the heat]. Hopefully, I can just pull the best parts of both together, and swim a good final tomorrow.
"No one is a given a medal before they go in, we all have an equal chance, so I'm definitely going to go for it.
"When you get into the routine, it just feels like any other competition, but when you sit down for a second... Like last night, I did all my warm down and cool down, it hit me that I was in a semi-final. That buzz is just unbelievable, you can't get any higher than this.
"I'm definitely shaking a little bit [when I'm on the starting block]. I noticed that when I went down to start, my arm was shaking a little bit, and I was like, 'Oh my God, this is exciting'.
"My whole body knows this is a big experience, even though my mind hasn't caught up to that yet. I definitely deep down know that this is something I'm going to look back on in years, and be so proud of myself."
McSharry is just the second Irish swimmer ever to qualify for an Olympic final. The final, which will see her swim from lane eight, takes place at 3:17am Irish time on Tuesday.
'I feel a lot more confident in the way I swam that race' - Mona McSharry tells @OFlynnPaul about her delight in reaching the 100m breaststroke final #Tokyo2020 #RTESport #Olympics @swimireland pic.twitter.com/LaLJBKHAYL
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 26, 2021
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