Mona McSharry produces brilliant finish to win bronze in 200m breaststroke

Mona McSharry added a second European Aquatics Championship medal to her collection in Paris on Friday night, while Ellen Walshe kept alive the prospect of another gold after reaching the 200m individual medley final.McSharry produced a brilliant final 50m to overhaul Dutch rival Tes Schouten by 0.24 seconds and claim bronze in the 200m breaststroke, 48 hours after taking silver in the 100m.McSharry had spent most of the race in fourth before producing her decisive finish. Evgeniia Chikunova, competing as a neutral athlete, won gold in a championship-record 2:19.32, with Britain’s Angharad Evans second.READ MORE“It was crazy,” McSharry said. “I was definitely burning up on the last 50, I could see Evans beside me but couldn’t see anything else. I was hanging on for dear life and I’m glad I was on the right side of a tight finish.“It’s kind of similar to Paris [two years ago], they have the little red lights on the box now and immediately I was swinging my head around to see if there were three dots, two dots, one dot, so that’s the immediate gratification.”The 25-year-old Sligo swimmer, who won Ireland’s first medal of the Paris Olympics in 2024, touched in 2:22.43, just outside the Irish record of 2:22.22 she set in April.“I think Paris is a good city for me, I should just move here,” McSharry laughed. “It does have the same kind of feel. Having my family here to support me really made it feel a lot similar.“I’m trying to soak it in as much as possible because I feel like I’ve had times in the past when I haven’t done so. So I looked into the crowd, seeing all the Irish flags and looking at our team standing there, it was great.”McSharry admitted she had been nervous before the race. “As Ellen [Walshe] would say I was fighting demons during that one. Not the time I wanted, but I’m happy,” she said. “I was definitely very nervous about the race, but that’s just built up myself because I know I can be really fast in the 200.“But in general I do feel like I’m trying to keep the expectations lower, knowing that I did achieve an Olympic medal and a podium. I don’t want to cripple myself with the weight of trying to achieve it.”[ In 22 magical minutes, Mark English and Rhasidat Adeleke had sealed their legaciesOpens in new window ]Racing alongside McSharry, Ellie McCartney finished eighth in the final before placing sixth in her 200m IM semi-final.Walshe competed in the same race and reached Saturday’s final after finishing third in 2:11.26. The newly crowned European 400m IM champion had led until the final turn after returning from a day off.“I just wanted to build through the rounds today and that’s exactly what I did,” she said. “I guess the final will be fun tomorrow.”Walshe will first contest the 200m butterfly heats on Saturday morning before the IM final at 5.47pm.Daniel Wiffen also secured another medal opportunity, qualifying fifth-fastest for the 1500m freestyle final after finishing second in his heat behind Germany’s Oliver Klemet. “It’s about keeping cool, basically,” Wiffen said. “For the 800 I was just sweating. Sleep, nutrition and hydration are the go-tos. Plus, I’m not in the best shape and I have to take that into account. Yeah, we’ll see what happens.”His twin, Nathan, was eighth in the final heat. The final starts at 6.20pm on Saturday. Danielle Hill and Grace Davision qualified for the 100m backstroke semi-finals, with Lottie Cullen missing out on the two-per-nation rule, while Jack Cassin finished eighth in the 200m butterfly semi-final.[ European Athletics and Swimming Championships: Complete guide to the Irish in actionOpens in new window ]Rosalie Phelan was 30th in the 50m freestyle heats, while Ireland’s four 50m breaststroke swimmers all missed out on the semi-finals. Jack Kelly was closest in 27.37, with Darragh Greene, Adam Bradley and Eoin Corby also failing to advance.Saturday’s action begins with Tom Fannon and Matthew Hamilton in the men’s 50m freestyle at 8.30am, followed by Walshe and Alana Burns-Atkin in the women’s 200m butterfly at 8.48am. John Shortt races the 100m backstroke at 9.01am, with McSharry in the 50m breaststroke at 9.24am. Cassin, Jacob Armon and Liam Custer contest the 200m IM at 9.36am.