So near, once again so far, Mona McSharry falling short of going where no Irish swimmer has gone before, just missing out on the medal podium at the World Championships for the second time in a year.
After two frantically close lengths of the 100m breaststroke final inside the Aspire Dome in Doha, McSharry touched home in fifth, the same position as she finished in last July’s championships in Japan, when she dropped from second to fifth just before the finish.
This time McSharry couldn’t quite get herself into a medal position, victory going to Tang Qianting, the 19-year-old from China who had looked scintillating in her semi-finals, winning in 1:05.27, China’s first champion in the event since 2003.
Then came Tes Schouten, the Dutch swimmer claiming silver in 1:05.82, with Siobhan Bernadette Haughey, the 26-year-old Hong Kong swimmer and a grandniece of the late Charles Haughey, winning a surprise bronze in 1:05.92.
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McSharry had briefly sat in fourth, turned in fifth, and came home in 1:06.42, with Kotryna Teterevkova, the 22-year-old from Lithuania, fourth in 1:06.02.
Tuesday evening’s medal showdown had looked likely to be a race between McSharry and the two Chinese opponents, although the other Chinese medal hope Yang Chang ended up seventh.
“I’m gutted, it just felt like it was there, within my reach, and I just didn’t have it today,” McSharry admitted afterwards, unable to contain the tears of disappointment.
“That’s really tough to deal with, but back to the drawing board, keep working I guess. I think the most important thing is to not come away from this distraught, or disheartened, but use it to my advantage, rather than feeling like I’m not capable. And that’s probably going to be the hardest part.”
McSharry’s best time in the event is the 1:05.55 clocked at last year’s World Championships in Fukuoka, where she later finished fifth. Tellingly, the four swimmers ahead of her there were not in this event in Doha, and this certainly represented a strong chance of making the podium.
Irish swimmers have previously won three medals at the World Short Course (25m) Championships, in Shane Ryan (2018 bronze), Ellen Walshe (2021 silver) and McSharry herself (2021 bronze), but never in the long course Olympic size pool.
She was also looking to win her second global medal on the senior stage after she won bronze in the 100m breaststroke at the World Short-Course Championships in Abu Dhabi, in December 2021, and will return for the 50m and 200m breastroke later in the week.
Haughey first announced her Irish connection after winning a silver medal for Hong Kong in the women’s 200m freestyle final at the Tokyo Olympics. The now 26-year old was born in Hong Kong, her father Darach working there for a major accountancy firm, her mother Canjo being a native of Hong Kong.
Earlier on Tuesday she swam in the 200m freestyle semi-final, also making that final.
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