'Unbelievable': Mona McSharry savours her brilliant bronze

The tears flowed, dropping down upon the new bling around Mona McSharry's neck.

Tears, though, of a different kind on Monday night in Paris.

There was no hard luck story. There were no 'what if's now for Mona McSharry, the Olympic bronze medal.

Barely a fingertip was in it at the end of a tense women's 100m breaststroke final at the Paris La Défense Arena, McSharry touching the wall just 0.01 of a second ahead of Benedetta Pilato.

“Unbelievable,” McSharry reflected through those joyous tears.

“There was a moment on the podium where I just started tearing up and it was like: 'oh shit, this is really happening'.

“It's unbelievable. It's been a lot of hard work and I think there has always been a little of bit of doubt: 'Do I belong at the top?' This proves it.

“I raced my heart out. To be on the right side of a really tight race is just unbelievable.”

McSharry secured a valuable middle lane via an Irish record swim, going 1:05.51 in her semi-final on Sunday night.

The Grange native, who spent countless early mornings of her young years improving those percentages at Marlins Swimming Club in Ballyshannon.

The 23-year-old University of Tennessee student said: “I am so proud of myself and all the people who have supported me to be able to come out with this performance. Honestly, regardless of the result, just being able to compete at this level and be in with a chance of medalling and actually medalling, it's what sport is about.

“Sometimes it's hard, because you're so nervous, to have fun, but that's the most important part, soaking up these moments.”

McSharry was behind Tatjana Smith from South Africa, who won gold in 1:05.28, and Chinese swimmer Tang Qianting, who took silver in 1:05.54.

McSharry was second when the eight swimmers turned for the final 50m, despite being inhibited as she entered the water.

She said: “The most important takeway is that that wasn't a perfect race. I dove in and my goggles filled up with water. I pushed to the end. I could see the Chinese girl on one side of me, I didn't know what was going on on the other and I knew I had to dig deep.”

McSharry might've quit the sport when falling out of love in 2022, just months after reaching the 100m breaststroke final at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo.

From somewhere, she found a way back into the lane again.

“I think that walking away from this sport almost put into perspective why I do it,” she said.

“These are just bonuses – and they're amazing bonuses.

“I was a little girl from a tiny little village and I was able to win a medal at the Olympics so it just goes to show that you can do anything you put your mind to.”

The nails of many of those watching were bitten to the quick; the width of which was all that was in it.

Next to nothing, but in fact it was everything.