Mona McSharry is bound for the the Olympic Games in Paris after smashing her previous Irish record in the 100m breaststroke at the World Aquatics Championship in Fukuoka, Japan, where she has advanced to the final.
McSharry won her heat in one minute 5.55 seconds, with her previous best of 1:06.04 set at the Irish Championships in April.
The Sligo swimmer was the second fastest across all the heats and progressed to the semi-finals.
This afternoon, the McSharry swam her second fastest time ever of 1:05.96 for second in her semi-final, with 2016 Olympic champion and current world record holder Lily King of the USA touching the wall first in 1:05.45.
McSharry was the fourth fastest of the semi-finalists and will vie for a medal at 1.45pm on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old reached the final of the 100m breaststroke at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and has now, as expected, guaranteed her spot in Paris.
McSharry said: "I'm super-excited. I was reminiscing today about my last Worlds, which was in 2017, and I remember watching the final with my coach Grace and I was just in awe. So to be able to look forward six years now and actually be in that final that I was just watching and so excited to witness is really exciting.
"Knowing that I got the Olympic time, and that’s inevitably what I came here to do, in such a big swim this morning, I was like if I can get anywhere near that I’ll be happy.
"That’s what it is now, a bonus, being able to progress through the rounds like I have is great."
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s final, she spoke of her plan: "Getting my hand on that wall as quick as possible, really just race. We’ve got some great people in there, world record holders, Olympic medal winners and that’s really exciting and to be able to race against them is just great."
Ellen Walshe had earlier guaranteed her place in Paris after finishing fourth in her semi-final in the 200m individual medley.
The World Aquatics Championships is the first of three opportunities for Irish swimmers to secure individual Olympic places, the second being the World Aquatics Championships in Doha in February 2024, and the third being the Irish Open Swimming Championships in May 2024.
For relays, the top three teams in Olympic relay events in Fukuoka will confirm places for Paris, with the remaining 13 teams coming from the top times in Fukuoka and the 2024 World Aquatics Championships.
