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Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Eighth place finish for Ellen Walshe at the World Championships
Ellen Walshe has finished eighth in the 200m Individual Medley final at the World Championship final. Two-time Olympian and 400m Individual Medley finalist in Paris, Walshe competed in her first World Championship final in the 50m pool. Walshe set an Irish Record in the semi-final on Sunday with a time of 2:10.49 and finished eighth in a time of 2:11.57 in the final. Canada's Summer McIntosh took gold, her second in as many days. Speaking on her eighth place finish in her first World Championships Walshe said "I think to be in my first world final tonight, like it's a huge experience, out against some massive names in a 2IM, but yeah, a little bit disappointed, but sure, roll on to the next one." Walshe is in the 200m Butterfly heats on Wednesday which she has been working towards this year. "I don't really know where it's going to be. I've never raced it internationally at this level, so I'm excited to kind of see where I can get, if it's a semifinal or I'm not even sure, but yeah, I'm looking forward to it." In the 100m Breaststroke semi-final Mona McSharry, who was top seed in 1:05.99, finished in sixth in a time of 1:06.33 and 11th overall and missed out on a final place by 0.16 of a second. McSharry spoke after the race about the trouble she had in the last 25m which hurt her in the morning as well. "It didn't feel too bad honestly. I probably felt a little bit better until the last 25 again, and then, you know, it hurt like this morning, but it's very hard to tell where you're at in the race for breaststroke, so I was just trying to get my hands on the wall, but sadly it's just not meant to be. "That's just the way it goes sometimes, everyone's kind of feeling it out in the heats and I had a very good heat swim, like very happy with that, and it is important to be able to kind of produce that in the morning, so that's a great takeaway. I just didn't replicate it tonight." McSharry still has the 50m and 200, Breaststroke to come during the week and the Sligo native said she will have to reset ahead of those races. "You know, I just have two days now to kind of just reset my mind and yeah, get back on the train and kind of go through the process again and see what I can do." Evan Bailey made his first appearance in a World semi-final when he finished 16th overall in 1:48.75, just outside the Irish Record of 1:46.66, in the 200m Freestyle semi-final. It was a surreal moment for Bailey as he walked out for the semi-final. "It was amazing to walk out there." said Bailey. "I mean, like the atmosphere and just everyone in the crowd, screaming, I walked out, it was surreal. It was a great to experience it and to get that experience on the world stage, and I'm really grateful to have been in that semi-final. But yeah, my race plan didn't go to plan, I'm a bit disappointed with that. I'll have to go back and reassess with my coach on what went wrong there, but then there's always positives to come back on, to get an experience on that level. It'll just be good to build on in the future." Daniel Wiffen will begin his defence of his 800m Freestyle World Title in the preliminary round on Tuesday. Wiffen needs to finish in the top eight to progress to the final on Wednesday. Limerick's Jack Cassin makes his World Championships debut in the 200m Butterfly.
The 42
2 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
Mona McSharry and Evan Baily progress at World Aquatics Championships
IRELAND's MONA McSHARRY and Evan Baily progressed on day two of the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. McSharry produced her fastest time of the year in the 100m Breaststroke to win her heat and secure the top seed for Monday afternoon's semi-finals, while Bailey equalled the 200m Freestyle Irish Record to progress to the semi-final on his World Championships (LC) debut. McSharry, Olympic bronze medallist in the 100m Breaststroke, clocked 1:05.99, for only her sixth time to break 66 seconds in the event, three of those being from the Paris Games and twice at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. The Sligo native was the only swimmer under that mark with Germany's Anna Elendt next in 1:06.01. Speaking after the race McSharry said, 'Yeah, I'm definitely feeling good. You know, honestly, that race kind of hurt and I think, talking to Ellen (Walshe) a little bit yesterday, it's kind of just getting the first one out of the way. And, you know, just trying to push through that, and there was a second, I was like, 'I don't know if I'm going to be in the semi'. I was like, 'No, you just got to go'. And I'm excited to see that, you know, another close finish, but again on my side. So just making sure that I'm pushing to the end and, hopefully, we can get ourselves into the final now tonight.' On racing for the first time internationally since the Games, McSharry added, 'I definitely was more nervous than I thought I was going to be. I think building up to it, I was fine, kind of even yesterday, didn't really feel like I was racing, which is fine, very relaxed, and then this morning kind of just hit me stomach of like butterflies, but you know, just kind of channelling that and like trying to enjoy it because, you know, a bit of breathing will calm down, but you're not going to get rid of it fully and not letting it take over.' Bailey had the swim of his life on his World Championships debut. The National Centre Limerick swimmer equalled Jack McMillan's 200m Freestyle Irish Record from the Tokyo Games in 1:46.66. It was Bailey's first time under 1:47, having come into the meet with a best time of 1:47.04 from the Irish Open in April. Advertisement The New Ross man finished seventh in his heat and progresses 15th overall to this afternoon's semi-final. Speaking after the race Bailey said, 'I'm absolutely delighted. I've had a lot of ups and downs this season and yeah, my training's been going really well, and I've just been waiting for that one swim to happen, I'm absolutely delighted with it.' McSharry competes at 12.29pm in the 100m Breaststroke semi-final. Bailey takes to the blocks for the 200m Freestyle Semi-Final at 1.08pm followed directly by Ellen Walshe in the 200m Individual Medley Final at 1.20pm. Also, in action this morning, Danielle Hill opened her championships in the 100m Backstroke touching in 1:00.79 for a world top twenty place, the Larne swimmer finishing 18th overall, just outside the semi-final places. Hill returns to the pool on Wednesday for the 50m Backstroke Heats. In the Men's 100m Backstroke, John Shortt touched in 54.26, his fourth fastest time ever. Schedule – Day 2 Finals, Monday 28 July Women 100m Breaststroke – Mona McSharry, 12.29pm (Irish time) Men 200m Freestyle – Evan Bailey, 1.08pm Women 200m IM Final – Ellen Walshe 1.20pm Live Stream: World Aquatics Championships
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Mona McSharry makes a major impression in heats at World Aquatics Championships
Ireland's Mona McSharry starred in the opening session on day two of the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, clocking her fastest time of the year in the 100m breaststroke to win her heat and secure the top seed for Monday afternoon's semi-finals. An Olympic bronze medallist in the event, McSharry hit the wall in one minute 5.99 seconds as she recorded her sixth fatest time ever. The Sligo native was the only swimmer under the 66-second mark, with Germany's Anna Elendt next best in 1:06.01. Speaking after the race McSharry said: "I'm definitely feeling good. That race kind of hurt and I think, talking to Ellen (Walshe) a little bit yesterday, it's kind of just getting the first one out of the way. "Just trying to push through that, and there was a second I was like, 'I don't know if I'm going to be in the semi'. I was like, no, you just got to go. And I'm excited to see that, another close finish, but again on my side. "So I'm just making sure that I'm pushing to the end and, hopefully, we can get ourselves into the final now tonight." On coming into the Worlds as an Olympic medallist, she said: "I think the hardest part coming in with that kind of background is just trying not to put myself into a place where I feel like I have to be on the podium, that I have to be medalling, because I have experienced that before. "I put that pressure on myself before and it doesn't help." Meanwhile, Evan Bailey produced the display of his life on his on his World Championships debut, with the National Centre Limerick swimmer equalling Jack McMillan's 200m freestyle Irish record of 1:46.66 to progress to the semi-finals. It was Bailey's first time under 1:47:00, having come into the meet with a best time of 1:47.04 from the Irish Open in April. The New Ross man finished seventh in his heat and was 15th fastest overall. A beaming Bailey said afterwards: "I'm absolutely delighted. I've had a lot of ups and downs this season. My training has been going really well and I've just been waiting for that one swim to happen. "I'm absolutely delighted with it and it was there. I can't thank the people around me or my team-mates anymore, they've done probably more of the work than I have to help get me here, but the training group right now we have is unbelievable and all the boys push each other." Danielle Hill opened her championships in the 100m backstroke and touched the wall in 1:00.79 to finish fifth in her heat and 18th overall, meaning the Larne swimmer missed out on a place in the semi-finals. John Shortt saw his qualification bid in the 100m backstroke end in the heats as he clocked 54.26 to finish ninth.
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Sligo swimmer Mona McSharry cruises into 100m breaststroke semis at Singapore World Championships with fastest time
McSharry, Olympic bronze medallist in the 100m breaststroke, clocked 1:05.99, for only her sixth time, to break 66 seconds in the event, with three of those finishes coming in the Paris Games and two at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. The Sligo native was the only swimmer under that mark with Germany's Anna Elendt next in 1:06.01. Speaking after the race, McSharry said: "Yeah, I'm definitely feeling good. You know, honestly, that race kind of hurt and I think, talking to Ellen [Walshe] a little bit yesterday, it's kind of just getting the first one out of the way. "And, you know, just trying to push through that, and there was a second, I was like, I don't know if I'm going to be in the semi. I was like, no, you just got to go. "And I'm excited to see that, you know, another close finish, but again on my side. So just making sure that I'm pushing to the end and, hopefully, we can get ourselves into the final now tonight.' On racing for the first time internationally since the Games, McSharry added: "I definitely was more nervous than I thought I was going to be. I think building up to it, I was fine, kind of even yesterday, didn't really feel like I was racing, which is fine, very relaxed, and then this morning kind of just hit me stomach of like butterflies. "But you know, just kind of channelling that and like trying to enjoy it because, you know, a bit of breathing will calm down, but you're not going to get rid of it fully and not letting it take over.' On coming into the Championships as an Olympic medal winner, she said: 'You know, I think the hardest part coming in with that kind of background is just trying not to put myself into a place where I feel like I have to be on the podium, I have to be medalling, because I have experienced that before. "I put that pressure on myself before and it doesn't help. It's a completely different field of people, different people were racing, you know, might be some of the same people, but they have another year under their belts. So, you know, it's just kind of you wipe the slate every time and you just race what's in the pool." Evan Bailey had the swim of his life on his World Championships debut. The National Centre Limerick swimmer equalled Jack McMillan's 200m freestyle Irish record from the Tokyo Games (1:46.66). It was Bailey's first time under 1:47, having come into the meet with a best time of 1:47.04 from the Irish Open in April. The New Ross man finished seventh in his heat and progresses 15th overall to today's semi-final. Bailey said: "I'm absolutely delighted. I've had a lot of ups and downs this season and yeah, my training's been going really well, and I've just been waiting for that one swim to happen, I'm absolutely delighted with it, and it was there. I can't thank the people around me or my teammates anymore, they've done probably more of the work than I have to help get me here, but yeah, the training group right now we have is unbelievable and just all the boys push each other. Even at U23's just seeing like Eoin (Corby) and Jack (Cassin) at the finals there doing so well and then John Shortt at European Juniors and I just wanted to say oh, here it's my turn to show what I can do now. I'm absolutely over the moon with that.' It will be a busy night of racing in Singapore this afternoon, with McSharry first up at 12.29 in the 100m Breaststroke Semi-Final. Bailey takes to the blocks for the 200m Freestyle Semi-Final at 13.08 followed directly by Ellen Walshe in the 200m Individual Medley Final at 13.20. Also, in action was Danielle Hill in the 100m backstroke, touching in 1:00.79 for a top 20 place, the Larne swimmer finishing 18th overall, just outside the semi-final places. Hill returns to the pool on Wednesday for the 50m backstroke heats. In the men's 100m backstroke, John Shortt touched in 54.26, his fourth fastest time ever.
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Mona McSharry not feeling the same pressure ahead of World Aquatics Championships
Mona McSharry, Ireland's Olympic 100m breaststroke Olympic bronze medallist, says she isn't putting any pressure on herself as she returns to her first major competition, the World Aquatics Championships, the swimming phase of which gets underway on Sunday in Singapore. Following her Olympic exploits last year in Paris, the Sligo native had toyed with the idea of retirement. After her tearful success in Paris, McSharry said at the time that "knowing that this is most likely my last Olympics, I am really happy to come away with a medal". However, after her complete break from swimming over the winter, the 24-year-old returned to the pool to compete in the 2025 World Championship qualifiers at the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin, where she posted the required qualifying times. After a recent training camp in Malaysia, McSharry and the rest of the 12-strong Irish swimming squad, which include Paris gold medallist Daniel Wiffen and finalist Ellen Walsh, are now in the final stages of preparation for the Singapore event. It's almost exactly a year to the day since McSharry won that Olympic bronze medal in Paris. "It's kind of crazy that it's been a year, honestly. I feel like it's gone really fast and I'm excited to be back competing and just seeing where I can go from here," she said on the eve of the Worlds. Now back in the pool after her break earlier this year, McSharry is not putting any pressure on herself ahead the women's 100m breaststroke, the heats of which are off the blocks on Monday. "I'm leaving it (expectations) pretty open, honestly. "I want to try and be kind of relaxed coming into this just because there was so much pressure building up into last year and I don't feel the need to come in with that same amount of pressure this year. "But I am excited to see where I'm at, especially after having a shorter season and only kind of getting back into training in January, and just kind of seeing where my body is at after a shorter training period. "I just have it in my mind to enjoy the racing. "It's a good team and a good group of people and so it's always fun to kind of travel away and have a good time. "That's such a big part about traveling and going on these trips is like, you know, racing is fun, but it's also just about kind of getting to enjoy time with friends and people that do things that you do and kind of cheering them on as well." After Monday's 100m breaststroke heats, McSharry will also compete in the 200m equivalent, the heats of which are on Thursday, followed by the 50m version of the discipline next Saturday. The opening day of competition in the pool sees Jack Cassin take part in the men's 100m butterfly and Tom Fannon, the Paris Olympic semi-finalist, in the men's 50m freestyle
