Mona McSharry is 2nd woman ever to split sub-56 second breaststroke in medley relay

On Friday night Mona McSharry became only the second woman ever to split a sub-56 second breaststroke on the 400m medley relay.

McSharry swam a blazing 55.95, the fourth-best performance of all time, with the top three all belonging to American Lilly King, the five-time Olympic medallist and current world-record holder in the 100m long course breaststroke.

The 23-year-old Sligo native’s previous best time in a relay was 56.57, which ranked her fourth in the world.

McSharry’s time pushed Tennessee into the lead in the final of the SEC championships, going 3:24.94 to set new SEC and meet records, with second-placed team Florida also going under the old records.

McSharry, who admitted to being devastated after a fifth-place finish in the 100m breaststroke at the world championships in Doha, has qualified for the event at the Paris Olympics.