Mona McSharry secured her spot in the final of the 50m freestyle at the Youth Olympic Games on Thursday.
The Sligo woman registered a new Irish record in making it to the final in the second fastest time.
McSharry finished second in her semi-final a time of 25.42 seconds. The final will take place on Friday night.
"That was amazing,” said an elated McSharry after the race,
“Anything I did this morning that I didn’t feel comfortable with I really tried to focus on it. I took a breath a bit later and just powered into the wall. I didn’t expect that but it’s just amazing, I feel amazing.”
Mona continued; “I just got out of the block, and honestly I felt a bit tired, I’ve been feeling tired in the evenings, it’s quite warm in here.
"I just dived in, and powered through my leg kick, burst out through the water, took my three breaths when I needed to and just hammered into the wall. I just got that time!”
McSharry will now race in her third final this week; “I’m really excited about that, I wanted to make the final in the 50 but after my breaststroke events I didn’t expect that, it’s just amazing!”
