Search
23 Feb 2026
Search
23 Feb 2026
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Mona McSharry with her bronze medal in Paris. Photo: Sportsfile
Bronze medallist Mona McSharry has indicated that this edition of the Olympic Games could be her last.
McSharry won a brilliant bronze in the 100m breaststroke in Paris.
The 23-year-old previously hinted that she could walk away from the sport after the Olympics.
McSharry, who cut her teeth in the sport asa member of the Marlins Swimming Club in Ballyshannon, was close to giving up swimming in 2022 before having a change of heart.
On Saturday, after helping the Ireland 4x100m medley relay to a new Irish record, McSharry suggested that she had just had her Olympic swansong.
“It's been unbelievable,” McSharry said. “I couldn't ask for anything better. With all the training, the dreams and knowing that this is, most likely, my last Olympics, I'm really happy to come away with a medal.”
McSharry, a former world junior champion, described, in an interview earlier this year, her involvement in sport as leaving her feeling “trapped in something I really disliked”.
At Paris La Défense Arena, McSharry took her place in the pantheon of Ireland's Olympic medallists in the 100m breaststroke final, finishing third in 1:05.59.
At the last Olympics in Tokyo, McSharry was eighth in the 100m final. This time, she inched ahead of Benedetta Pilato from Italy and USA's Lilly King, the world record holder, by one hundredth of a second.
In the 200m breaststroke, McSharry reached a semi-final, clocking 2:24.48 for 11th overall.
Ireland finished in sixth spot in their medley relay semi-final, coming back in a new Irish record of 4:00.12 with McSharry joined by Danielle Hill, Ellen Walshe and 16-year-old Grace Davison.
McSharry, who was planning a three-month van trip across the United States post Olympics anyway, said: “It's been great, honestly like a rollercoaster with some highs and some more disappointing races, but overall I'm super happy. I'm kind of sad that it's over, but excited to take a little break.
“It great to finish with the relay. I couldn've have asked for a better finish. We were all had a great time and having a bit of fun in the prep area. That was really nice.
“I needed to finish off the week, regardless of what happened earlier, with the ladies and to get a new Irish senior record was great.”
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
