Mona McSharry only second woman to hit sub-56 second breaststroke in a medley relay

Mona McSharry became only the second woman to split a sub-56 second breaststroke in a medley relay

McSharry, fresh from reaching three finals at the World Championships in Doha, was back in the pool this week at the South Eastern Conference Championships.

McSharry helped the University of Tennessee, where she is a scholarship student, to gold in the 400m medley relay, silvers in the 200m medley relay and 200m freestyle relay while also claiming individual gold in the 100m breaststroke and 50m freestyle.

In the second heat of the 400m medley relay at the James E. Martin Aquatic Centre in Auburn, Alabama, McSharry, the graduate of the Marlins Swimming Club in Ballyshannon, whizzed to a 55.95 second heat – giving her team a lead they would hold to the finish.

University of Tennessee won gold in 3:24.92 with Grange native McSharry joined by Josephine Fuller, Brooklyn Douthwright and Camille Spink, edging Florida for the gold.

The previous best for McSharry with a rolling start in the 100m breaststroke was 56.57. Now, McSharry is second only to Lilly King, who clocked 55.66 during her time at Indiana. King won five medals, including two gold, at the Olympic Games in 2016.

McSharry won the 100m breaststroke gold thanks to a new SEC Championship record of 57.00 seconds. Her preliminary round swim of 57.06 seconds was also a meeting record.

She is the first female SEC swimmer to win three 100m breaststroke golds since the 1990s. McSharry has already qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games in the 100m breaststroke.

McSharry clocked 22.01 for bronze in the 50m freestyle with the Lady Vols going 1:34.89 for silver in the 200m medley relay and 1:26.87 for silver in the 200m freestyle relay.

At the recent World Championships, McSharry was fifth in both the 100m and 200m breaststroke finals and eighth in the 50m breaststroke final.