MONA MCSHARRY HAS finished seventh in the 200m Breaststroke final at the European Championships in Rome.
The Sligo star clocked 2:26.96 after a gutsy swim, in which she was in the mix at the half-way point but her challenge faded.
Switzerland’s Lisa Mamie won gold in 2:23.27, with Italy’s Marina Carraro (2:23.64) and Kotryna Teterevkova (2:24.16) of Lithuania finishing second and third respectively.
Swimming from Lane 6 in her second final of these championships, McSharry made a bright start and was second after 100m (1:09.33), behind just the Lithuanian.
It’s 7th place for Mona McSharry in the 200m Breaststroke Final in 2:26.96, she took it out fast and was right in the mix!
— Swim Ireland (@swimireland) August 15, 2022
Mona is back in the pool in the morning for the 50m Breaststroke.#Roma2022 #teamarenaIRL pic.twitter.com/BHrxtQsKxA
But she dropped back on length number three, a heavy programme perhaps going against the 21-year-old as she was overpowered down the home straight.
“It didn’t go the way that I had planned,” McSharry told RTÉ afterwards. “I think I let myself get a little bit excited and just went out a little hard in the first 100m, I paid the price the second 100m, but look, that’s the cost of learning.
“That’s all I can do really after this race: continue on and find ways to improve.”
The 200m breaststroke final didn't pan out exactly as Mona McSharry wanted, but the Sligo swimmer gained valuable experience as she eyes Paris 2024. pic.twitter.com/47JXEsihTp
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 15, 2022
McSharry clocked 2:25.24 in last night’s semi-final, just .16 shy of her Irish senior record of 2:25.08. She finished fourth last night, previously clocking 2:26.05 in her heat.
Denmark’s Thea Blomsterberg was the fastest in the semi-finals in 2:25.44. She finished fourth today.
McSharry, who finished fifth in the 100m breaststroke final on Saturday, is back in action tomorrow in the 50m Breaststroke Heats.
Max McCusker and Shane Ryan are also in the pool for the 50m Freestyle, with Eoin Corby and Liam Custer in the 200m Individual Medley.
Diving also gets underway at the Foro Italico, with Tokyo 2020 semi-finalist Tanya Watson and Irish record holders Ciara McGing (Platform) and Clare Cryan (1M & 3M Springboard) flying the flag for Ireland.
