Masterful Mona wins Ireland's first medal at Paris Olympics

Sligo's Mona McSharry - a swimming star with strong links to the Athlone area - has won Ireland's first medal at this year's Olympic Games in Paris.

McSharry claimed bronze in the 100m breaststroke final tonight (Monday) to secure Ireland's first swimming medal in the Olympics since Michelle Smith in 1996.

The gold medal in the 100m breaststroke was won by South Africa's Tatjana Smith in a time of 1:05.28, with China's Qianting Tang taking silver.

McSharry swam a time of 1:05.59, pipping the Italian Benedetta Pilato for the bronze medal by just one hundredth of a second.

Mona is a niece of Athlone business man Ray McSharry, and his pharmacy in Golden Island showcased the talented swimmer as she prepared to battle for Olympic glory.

While the celebrations over McSharry's medal success will be most fervent in her native Sligo, Mona's wonderful achievement will be warmly welcomed across the Midlands and indeed the entire country.

McSharry was the second fastest qualifier for the final, having broken her Irish record in the semi-final yesterday, and she duly justified hopes that she could win a medal.

Her time in the final was only marginally slower than the swim that got the Grange native to the showpiece, but crucially it was enough to claim a coveted Olympics medal.