Mona McSharry won Ireland’s first Olympic medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
It was a great day for the country when she took to the pool in the 100m breaststroke final.
The 23-year-old made Irish Olympic history as she became the first Irish swimmer to see a podium since 1996.
She finished third in a tight final, which South Africa’s Tatjana Smith won with Tang Qianting coming second for China.
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It was an incredibly tight race, as she finished 0.31 seconds off the winner Smith and just 0.01 seconds ahead of Italian Benedetta Pilato, who came in fourth.
Mona set a new personal best and Irish record of 1:05.51 in the semi-final!
She became Ireland’s 39th Olympic medalist since Dr Pat O’Callaghan won the first at the 1928 Games in Amsterdam. And the first swimmer since Michelle Smith in Atlanta in 1996 – four years before Mona was even born.
While this is her first Olympic medal, it wasn’t her first Olympic final. She was eighth in the Olympic final three years ago in Tokyo when she became the first Irish swimmer to reach an Olympic final since 1996.
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Speaking just moments after picking up her medal, she said: “I’m very excited! I don’t think it’s fully sunk in yet that I’ve actually won a medal! I think once I get up on the podium it’ll all become really real but I think it’s just amazing because it’s years of hard work that have paid off and it just feels amazing!
“A little bit of relief, a little bit of wow – okay this is actually happening! Then just really excited to be in that position.”
