McSharry gutted as medal finish eludes her in 100m breaststroke final at the World Aquatics Championships

TRYING hard to hold back tears Sligo swimmer Mona McSharry admitted she was “gutted” when she gave her reaction to finishing firth in the 100m breaststroke final at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha on Tuesday.

McSharry, from Grange, was in lane 5 having earned a coveted middle lane draw through her semi-final.

Swimming 1:06.42, just half a second outside of the medals and well outside her personal best of 1:05.55.

She went into the final as the second fastest qualifier, and that semi-final performance raised hopes of her becoming Ireland's first ever medal winner at the long course edition of the World Championships.

"I'm gutted," said McSharry as she tried to hold back the tears.

"I just felt like I was there, and it was within my reach.

“I just didn't have it today and that's really tough to deal with. Back to the drawing board and keep working, I guess.

"The most important thing is not coming away from this distraught or disheartened.

“[I need to] use it to my advantage rather than feeling like I'm not capable. That's probably going to be the hardest part."

On Monday morning, McSharry eased through her heat, finishing in 1:06.49. She was second in her heat and the third fastest qualifier overall.

In the semi-final, McSharry breezed through, coming second in 1:06.11 with only Tang’s 1:05.36 faster.

Tuesday's race was won by China's Tang Qianting (1:05.27), with Tes Schouten of the Netherlands in second (1:05.82) and Hong Kong's Siobhan Bernadette Haughey (1:05.92) in third. The bronze medalist is the grandniece of former Taoiseach Charlie Haughey.

McSharry returns to the pool today, Thursday, for the heats of the 200m breaststroke, where she will be seeking to secure an Olympic qualification time of 2:23.91.