Mona McSharry bowed out of the World Aquatics Championship 200m breaststroke competition in Fukoka, Japan at the semi-final stage, finishing the event in 15th place overall.
McSharry finished fifth in Tuesday’s 100m breaststroke final at the championships, securing Olympic qualification.
The Sligo swimmer started the semi-final race strongly and was in fifth place crossing the 150m mark, but a late charge saw her drop to eighth, finishing with a time of 2:26.27 – quicker that her heat time of 2:26.59.
Speaking after the semi-final, McSharry expressed confusion. “I’m confused, I need to see the splits and stuff before I can figure out what happened I guess.
Ireland v Fiji: TV details, kick-off time, team news and more
To contest or not to contest? That is the question for Ireland’s aerial game
Ciara Mageean speaks of ‘grieving’ process after missing Olympics
Denis Walsh: Steven Gerrard is the latest to show a glittering name isn’t worth much in management
“It felt better than this morning, but roughly the same time, I’m quite happy with how I’m taking it out I think, so just look at the positives and hopefully build on it and this is just the first opportunity to qualify [for Paris 2024], so hopefully I can get it before the Olympics rolls around.”
McSharry will be back in action on Saturday for the 50m breaststroke heats, which is a non-Olympic event.
“I’m excited to move to something a little bit shorter, a little bit more relaxed, no pressure really, just get out there and race and do a bit of high intensity stuff before we go for the relay on Sunday, so it should be fun,” she said.
