Mona McSharry missed out on a shot at a second medal at Paris 2024 when she failed to fire in the semi-finals of the 200m breaststroke on Wednesday night.
McSharry, who delivered Ireland's first medal of the Games 48 hours earlier in the 100m breaststroke, looked out of sorts as she laboured to a sixth-place finish in her semi in 2:24.48 to finish 11th fastest overall.
She was left deeply disappointed with her performance, saying "something went wrong" during the race.
After experiencing the highs of winning an Olympic medal for the first time, she did not want to use that as an excuse for her performance this evening.
She told RTÉ Sport of her performance: "Not my best, I don’t really know how I feel about it yet so that’s really all I can say, definitely disappointed with that swim."
McSharry rebuffed suggestions that her earlier exertions and the maelstrom of emotions she had experienced has hindered her performance, adding: "I’d like to think not, you never know, but considering I swam fast this morning I’m not going to use that as an excuse.
"I didn’t swim fast enough, something went wrong during that race and sadly sometimes that’s how sport goes.
"I just expect so much more from myself. I was really hoping to make two finals. Right now, I’m upset, I feel like I let myself down.
"It’s tough, I’m really happy how the 100 went, just hoped for a lot better in the 200."
Kate Douglass of the USA won McSharry's semi-final in 2:19.74, with 100m breaststroke gold medallist Tatjana Smith of South Africa coasting home in second ahead of Douglass's compatriot Lilly King in third.
Tes Schouten of the Netherlands touched the wall first in the slower of the two semis in a pedestrian 2:22.74.
Earlier in the day, McSharry clocked a time half a second quicker to finish third in her heat and seventh fastest of the qualifier for the semi-finals.
Speaking after that heat, McSharry said that she was happy with her performance.
"It's my second fastest morning swim ever, and third fastest time. Should be enough to make it back tonight and hopefully we can go faster."
She admitted that it was slightly difficult to refocus after medalling, but that she was prepared "because I always knew I had the 200m coming up".
McSharry added: "I think the hardest part was getting to sleep and not wanting to revel in it too much and just knowing that I can sit back and enjoy the medal when I’m done racing."
