LAST UPDATE | 21 Dec 2021
MONA MCSHARRY HAS ended the Fina World Short Course Swimming Championships with a seventh-place finish in the 200m breaststroke final.
21-year-old McSharry was third with 50 metres to go and her time of 2:20.19 set another new Irish record in Abu Dhabi.
It was the Sligo native’s third final at these championships.
She had clocked a brilliant 2:21.59 to finish third in her heat and joint seventh overall and progress to the final, having claimed a bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke yesterday.
Her lifetime best in this event in short course format was 2:25.08, while team-mate Niamh Coyne previously held the Irish senior record at 2:22.70.
It was McSharry’s eighth new Irish senior record at these championships, and she now holds eight Irish senior records across long course (50m) and short course (25m) pools.
“It was so much fun to just finish the meet with yet another final and to be able to say I swam in every finals session this week,” she said.
It has been tough, but it’s been great and it’s such a good character builder. I’m glad I had the opportunity to do it.”
McSharry added: “I’m just going to take next year as it comes. It’s the year after the Olympics. I’ve done a lot of competing in college and now this, but I am trying to make it a more relaxed year.
“Just give myself a break, because the Olympics was quite a big pinnacle, and I did so well. I’m just going to get out there and try and race and see how I do over the next year.”
🔥 IRISH SENIOR RECORD 🔥
— Swim Ireland (@swimireland) December 21, 2021
Mona McSharry signs off Ireland's FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships with the team's 18th Irish Senior Record of the meet!
⏱️ 2:20.19 for 7th in the 200m Breaststroke FINAL
LIVE 🔴 https://t.co/xlq6Ltkkaq#FINAAbuDhabi2021 pic.twitter.com/mnkUZtlR6J
Ireland had three representatives in finals on the last day of competition, as Daniel Wiffen and Jack McMillan featured in the 1500m freestyle final and the 100m freestyle final respectively.
In his first international 1500m final, 20-year-old Wiffen finished eighth with a time of 14:36.78, while Belfast native McMillan was seventh after clocking 46.97.
“It’s my first final ever to swim a double 1500 and to go PB +4 from just what I went yesterday,” said Wiffen. “I’m pretty happy with that. I thought it was going to be a lot worse and I did go out a bit harder, because I tried to push on from yesterday, but it just didn’t work today.”
McMillan added: “It was crazy and exciting. I just learnt a lot from racing the best sprinters in the world I think I was just obviously tired at the end of the meet, but it was great to swim another 46 – that’s only my second time doing it.
This is my first World Short Course, and just to make a final on the last day of the meet was great. I got out there and had fun. Time for a break now!”
These championships are world swimming’s finale of 2021 and the culmination of the short course (25m pool) season.
- With additional reporting from Ben Blake
