Mona McSharry lowered her own Irish record in the heats of the 200m breaststroke, but her Games came to an end as she narrowly failed to advance to the semi-finals of the event.
McSharry adopted aggressive tactics to lead for much of the contest but tired in the closing stages as Kristyna Horska pipped the Sligo star, who clocked a new national best of 2:25.08 from lane six.
It was hardly a surprise to see the 20-year-old's stamina give way late on as the 100m breaststroke, where she finished eighth, is by far her strongest event.
"That's my first PB of the meet, so of course I'm happy with that," McSharry said afterwards.
Mona McSharry set a new national record of 2:25.08 in heat 1 of the 200m breaststroke, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to see her through to the semi-finals of the competition#Tokyo2020 #Olympics #RTESport
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 28, 2021
📱 Updates - https://t.co/RB2R16yhlb… pic.twitter.com/Aum1i4AdZY
On her immediate plans after a memorable debut at the Olympics, the University of Tennessee swimmer said: "I'm definitely excited for a little bit of a break. I don't have too long – I'm back in college on the 20-something of August.
"But I'm definitely looking forward to seeing my friends and family, and just having a little bit of a reunion.
"Even just being done racing and getting to experience a little bit more of Olympic Village life will be great as well.
"There's a lot of fun stuff to come!"
"I'm really, really happy with that, a PB at the Olympics is a good time" - Sligo swimmer Mona McSharry was pleased to set a new personal best and national record in her 200m breaststroke heat#Tokyo2020 #Olympics #RTESport
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 28, 2021
📱 Updates - https://t.co/RB2R16yhlb… pic.twitter.com/q6LAghcKVH
