ELLEN WALSHE HAS claimed her first victory of the 2026 World Aquatics World Cup Series, while Mona McSharry completed a remarkable campaign with a ninth medal from nine events as the series came to a close in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Already a silver medallist in the 200m butterfly from the opening leg and a bronze medallist in Friday’s 200m backstroke, Walshe went one better in Saturday’s 200m butterfly final with a stunning victory.
The Templeogue swimmer touched home in 2:04.05, a full two seconds clear of China’s Xinyang Zhou (2:06.12), with Mohan Chang third in 2:06.28.
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Shortly after securing gold, Walshe was back in the pool for the 200m individual medley final. She finished fourth overall in 2:07.00, her fastest time in the event across the series.
McSharry brought her World Cup campaign to a close with yet another breaststroke medal, this time claiming bronze in the 50m.
McSharry has remarkably climbed the podium in all nine events she contested across the series, returning home with a haul of three gold, two silver, and four bronze medals.
She clocked 29.89 in Saturday’s final, with Russia’s Ralina Giliazova taking gold in 29.54 and Belgium’s Florine Gaspard silver in 29.71.
Attention now turns to the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in Beijing from 1-6 December, where both McSharry and Walshe are set to compete.
The full Ireland team will be announced in November.
In cycling news, Fiona Mangan took 11th in the individual pursuit at the Track World Championships in Shanghai. Emma Jeffers finished 17th in the time trial.
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Walshe takes World Cup gold, McSharry caps magnificent nine-medal haul from nine events
ELLEN WALSHE HAS claimed her first victory of the 2026 World Aquatics World Cup Series, while Mona McSharry completed a remarkable campaign with a ninth medal from nine events as the series came to a close in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Already a silver medallist in the 200m butterfly from the opening leg and a bronze medallist in Friday’s 200m backstroke, Walshe went one better in Saturday’s 200m butterfly final with a stunning victory.
The Templeogue swimmer touched home in 2:04.05, a full two seconds clear of China’s Xinyang Zhou (2:06.12), with Mohan Chang third in 2:06.28.
Shortly after securing gold, Walshe was back in the pool for the 200m individual medley final. She finished fourth overall in 2:07.00, her fastest time in the event across the series.
McSharry brought her World Cup campaign to a close with yet another breaststroke medal, this time claiming bronze in the 50m.
McSharry has remarkably climbed the podium in all nine events she contested across the series, returning home with a haul of three gold, two silver, and four bronze medals.
She clocked 29.89 in Saturday’s final, with Russia’s Ralina Giliazova taking gold in 29.54 and Belgium’s Florine Gaspard silver in 29.71.
Attention now turns to the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) in Beijing from 1-6 December, where both McSharry and Walshe are set to compete.
The full Ireland team will be announced in November.
In cycling news, Fiona Mangan took 11th in the individual pursuit at the Track World Championships in Shanghai. Emma Jeffers finished 17th in the time trial.
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