Mona McSharry’s latest medal came down to one hundredth of a second.
One hundredth separated gold from silver. One hundredth separated silver from bronze. One hundredth was enough to put McSharry on another European podium, lower her own Irish record, and become the first Irish woman to break 30 seconds in the 50m Breaststroke.
McSharry touched in 29.95 to win bronze on the final night of the European Aquatics Championships in Paris. World record holder Ruta Meilutyte took gold in 29.93, Benedetta Pilato won silver in 29.94, and McSharry completed the podium in 29.95.
It was her third medal of the championships, after silver in the 100m Breaststroke and bronze in the 200m Breaststroke. Her previous Irish 50m Breaststroke record had stood at 30.29 since 2023.
The margins were savage. McSharry still found her way into them.
“It’s crazy, I didn’t even realise that it was so close,” she said afterwards. “I kind of just looked for my own spot and I saw, again, the three little red dots on the block. I was like, oh, wow, I actually did it.”
The medal also gave Ireland its fifth of the championships. Ellen Walshe won two gold medals in the 200m and 400m Individual Medley, while McSharry’s three breaststroke medals completed Ireland’s most successful long-course European Championships. Ireland finished eighth on the medal table, with five medals, ten finals, twelve further semi-finals and eleven Irish senior records.
For McSharry, the 50m bronze was a statement in its own right. The 50m gives swimmers very little room to repair anything. A poor start, a mistimed finish, a single overreach into the wall can decide everything. McSharry had felt slightly off through the heat and semi-final. In the final, she trusted the race.
“I felt really good in that one,” she said. “I think the heat and semi felt a little off the first 25m, and I was like, I just need to trust myself that I go for it, and I did. I happily got my hand on the wall first, and I think it just shows that you’re never out of the race.”
That line could have been written for Ireland’s entire week.
Walshe had already produced one of the championship stories in Paris, winning both Individual Medley titles in Irish record times. On Sunday, she came agonisingly close to a third medal, finishing fourth in the 200m Butterfly in another Irish record of 2:07.40. She was 0.19 seconds outside bronze, with Great Britain’s Keanna MacInnes taking gold in 2:05.90, Denmark’s Helena Rosendahl Bach winning silver in 2:06.14 and Spain’s Laura Cabanes Garzas third in 2:07.21.
Walshe had already broken through twice in Paris. The fourth place still carried weight because of the swim itself, and because of the week around it.
“I’m really delighted,” she said. “It definitely stung the back end, and I just didn’t have quite enough to catch the Spanish girl. I’m absolutely delighted, I’ve been up the top of all my events this week and that’s unusual, at an international meet to be on prime for all of them, so yeah, absolutely buzzing with the week.”
The 200m Butterfly had looked promising before Paris. At the Sette Colli International in Rome in June, Walshe won the event in 2:08.02, her second-fastest time at that point and just outside her Irish record. McSharry also left that meet with a full set of medals across the breaststroke events. The shape of Paris was being built before the team arrived in France.
By Sunday night, the medals had already been won. Ireland still had one more record in them.
The women’s 4x100m Medley Relay team of Lottie Cullen, McSharry, Walshe and Grace Davison finished sixth in Europe in 3:57.26, demolishing the Irish record of 4:00.12 set at the Paris Olympic Games. Cullen led off in 1:00.64 on backstroke, McSharry split 1:04.72 on breaststroke, Walshe produced a 57.73 butterfly leg, and Davison brought Ireland home in 54.17 on freestyle.
McSharry called the relay record “unbelievable” and said it showed where Irish swimming is going. Walshe described it as “a great way to finish,” adding that all four had performed to their best. Davison pointed towards the future, saying the time gives Ireland encouragement as they look towards qualifying the relay for LA.
McSharry and Walshe led the way. The relay showed depth gathering around them. Cullen, Davison, McSharry and Walshe did more than lower a record. They moved an Irish women’s relay below four minutes and into sixth place in Europe.
Swim Ireland National Performance Director Andy Reid said the championship reflected what Irish swimming is building, pointing to the medals, Irish senior records and breakthrough swims as evidence of progress. He also highlighted the culture of the team, saying the athletes and staff had supported each other throughout the week.
Five medals. Two European titles. Three McSharry podiums. Eleven Irish senior records. A women’s relay record by almost three seconds.
