Mona McSharry sets another new Irish record at World Championships

Mona McSharry set another Irish record - her fourth in the last three days - at the World Short Course Swimming Championships in Abu Dhabi.

McSharry swam the 100m individual medley semi-final in 59.35 seconds at the Emirates Arena on Saturday morning.

While she didn’t qualify for the final of the event, the time means McSharry is placed 13th.

University of Tennessee student McSharry goes on Sunday in the 100m breaststroke. Earlier this year, McSharry was a finalist in the 100m breaststroke at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

In Saturday morning’s heat, the Marlins Swimming Club graduate became the first Irish woman to swim a 100m individual medley in under a minute when recording a time of 59.65 seconds. 

Of the heat, she said: "It definitely hurt coming home but it was a really good time.”

"My target was to break the minute. I've kind of had that on my mind for a couple of years. I’m really happy with how that went. 

McSharry broke the Irish record twice on her way to finishing fourth in the 50m breaststroke final.

The Grange woman finished that final in 29.59 seconds, breaking the new mark of 29.65 seconds she had set in Thursday’s semi-final.

McSharry was just 0.04 seconds off Sweden’s Sophie Hansson, the bronze medalist, in the 50m breaststroke final, which was won by Anastasia Gorbenko from Israel (29.34 seconds) with Benedetta Pilato (Italy) winning bronze in 29.50 seconds.