Mona McSharry has become the 39th Irish Olympic medalist, and the first to bring home a medal for Ireland at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Olympian.
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Who is Mona?
Mona McSharry is a swimmer who has claimed Ireland’s first medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning bronze in the 100m breaststroke. Not only did she win the first Irish Olympic medal of the year, but this is also the first Olympic swimming medal won by an Irish person in 28 years since Michelle Smith won gold in 1996.
McSharry, the 23-year-old swimmer from Grange in Sligo, came third place in the finals at Paris La Défense Arena, with a time of 1:05:59. Winning silver at less than one second ahead of the Irishwoman was Chinese Tang Qianting, who finished in 1:05:54. South Africa’s Tatjana Smith took gold with a time of 1:05:28.
After the competition, Mona spoke about how surreal the experience felt.
“I kind of had a bit of a flashback of all the hard work I’ve been going through this year and, you know, maybe some of the tougher moments and the moments where I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this’, and so it was just really nice,” she said.
“And then after that I was just honestly scanning the crowd and watching the flag, I could see Tatjana cry on the big screen and I was crying too. So, it’s just a bunch of emotions – and just unbelievable energy and excitement.”
Mona’s family shared their pride and support for her while celebrating in her hometown of Grange, Co.Sligo. Viola McSharry, Mona’s mother, said: “It was just such a fantastic moment for all of us and to be there for it, really it is something else.”
Mona’s grandfather, Patrick McSharry, said: “We’re so proud of her and all the hard work she put in over the years, many a hard morning in the frost and snow she went swimming, so all here in Grange are so proud.”
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Mona’s Swimming Career
At the age of five years old, Mona had to be rescued by her father after falling into a lake during a family holiday in Austria. Her parents promptly enrolled her in swimming lessons after that, and so began Mona’s journey to this moment.
Mona trained with her local Ballyshannon Marlins Swimming Club, and at just 15 years old, she was less than a second short of qualifying for the Rio Olympics. Outside of the Olympics, Mona has even more records and titles to show off.
When she was 16 years old, she won the European Junior Championship in the 50m breaststroke and a year later she earned the title of World Junior Champion in the 100m breaststroke, putting her in the spotlight on the global stage.
She qualified for the Tokyo Olympics and finished eighth in the 100m breaststroke and 20th in the 200m. The Olympian has achieved many other titles in recent years, including a number of World LC Championship finals in Japan, Doha, Dublin and Paris. Mona also graduated from Tennessee University with a degree in kinesiology.
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Does She Have Social Media?
Mona McSharry’s Instagram account (@monalmcsharry) has gained a mass of followers in the wake of her numerous achievements.
Join her 25.7k followers if you want regular updates of the young swimmer’s Olympic journey and her progress in her swimming career.
