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Mona McSharry: First Irish swimmer in Olympic Final since 1996

’It’s the second fastest second 50m that Mona has ever done!’ – Olympian Nicholas Quinn speaking on Mc Sharrry’s performance

For the first time in 25 years, Team Ireland will have a swimmer in an Olympic final.

Mona McSharry booked her spot in the Tokyo 2020 100m Breaststroke final on Monday morning.

The 20-year-old from Grange in Sligo touched the wall in fourth place in her semi-final. She swam a time of 1:06.59 to qualify for the Olympic final in 8th place.

Michelle Smith in 1996 was the last time an Irish swimmer achieved this accolade.

Coming in ahead of her in her semi-final were World Record-holder Lily King from the US, Tatjana Schoenmaker from South Africa, who set an Olympic Record in the heats, and Martina Carraro from Italy, who holds the World Record in the 50m Breaststroke.

McSharry was ranked 11th coming into the event and has now moved up three places in the rankings, finishing 9th in the heats and 8th in the semi-finals. Her lifetime best, the Irish Senior Record, is 1:06.29.

The Sligo native is now based at the University of Tennessee, and was the 2017 FINA World Junior Champion and LEN European Junior Champion in 100m Breaststroke. She was also a medallist.

McSharry said:

“I’m over the moon. I knew it was going to be tough. I’m just so happy to get another opportunity to race tomorrow.

“It was 0.2 slower (than the heats), but considering I got to bed quite late last night, and I was a bit groggy this morning, I’m not surprised about that. I’m happier with how the race felt, so I’m hoping I can pull the two together and swim a fast time (in the final).

 

She added: “It’s been amazing. Yesterday I was having lunch by myself and some other Irish person I didn’t know, Philip, a rower, came over and sat beside me and the two of us had lunch together.

“That’s really nice if you don’t have your swimming teammates there, to be able to look around and see other Irish people and sit with them and chat. That’s the great thing about the Irish spirit as well, we are very close as a nation.”

The 100m Breaststroke final takes place on Tuesday morning at 03:17 Irish time. Team Ireland has two swimming heats still to come on Monday.

 

Olympic Canoe: Last second heartbreak for Ireland’s Jegou

Team Ireland had Ballyvaughan canoer Liam Jegou in action this morning at the Kasai Slalom Centre

Jegou came into today’s C-1 Canoe Slalom in high spirits, full of confidence from his good run in the qualifying round that saw him in the top 15 places.

He was to be the fifth person down the artificial rapids stream after Swiss athlete Thomas Koechlin.

Jegou would have to make it through 25 gates in total without making missing one and with as few errors as possible.

He started his one and only attempt very fast and controlled, swerving through each gate. He made good time on the double reverse gates leaving him in a good place on the second half of the race.

After 22 gates he looked on course for a great time until a poor mistake mistake ruined his run. He misjudged the rapid waves as his oar struck the side of the gate and he failed to get his head cleanly between the gates.

This would result in a 50 second penalty and he knew his tournament was over. The dejected Jegou missed another gate in disappointment as he crossed the finish line.

The errors would leave him last in the semi-finals but it was very close to being another great run.

The 25-year-old still has many more great years of canoeing ahead of him. He has already won gold at the 2019 C-1 World Cup event in Pau and finished sixth at this years World Cup.

For those of you that are more interested in the canoeing, France’s Martin Thomas and Australia’s Daniel Watkins finished top two in the semi finals then.

The final took place less than two hours later in which Slovenia’s Benjamin Savsek took home gold in a staggering time of 98.25. The Czech Republic’s Rohan and Germany’s Tasiadis would take silver and bronze respectfully .

The women’s semi-final and final will take place tomorrow morning at 06:00 in the Kasai Slalom Centre.

Olympic Boxing: Disappointment for Irvine and Walsh in first bouts

Team Ireland had two more boxers competing on Day 3 with captain Brendan Irvine and Michaela Walsh in action

Men’s Flyweight (48-52kg) – Round of 32

Brendan Irvine (Ireland) v Carlo Paalam (Philippines)

This is Irvine’s second appearance at an Olympic Games after being taught a lesson back in Rio 2016. He is one of the more experienced boxers from Ireland and that is why he was named captain of the Tokyo 2020 boxing team.

He also lead Ireland out during the opening ceremony as flag bearer with medal hopeful Kellie Harrington.

The 25-year-olds first fight would come against Filipino boxer Carlo Paalam. The young boxer from the Philippines was competing at his first Olympic Games and he wanted to make it count.

Irvine had a timid start and lost narrowly lost the first round unanimously by all five of the judges scores.

The Belfast boxer fought back in the second round back splitting the judges votes with two in favour of him. He knew that he would have to put it all in for the final round.

Both fighters went at it hard in round three, Irvine managed to split the judges votes again. Sadly, it was not enough and the Irish boxer lost the bout with the judges score of 4-1.

Women’s Featherweight (54-57kg) – Round of 16

Michaela Walsh (Ireland) v Irma Testa (Italy)

This is Michaela Walsh’s first showing at an Olympic Games. The 28-year-old is also attending Tokyo 2020 with her younger brother, boxer Aidan Walsh.

This was Walsh’s first bout in this Games as she was given a bye in the Round of 32. Her opponent, Italian Irma Testa defeated Russian Liudmila Vorontsova in the last round.

These two boxers last faced each other in the European Qualifier final which Testa won.

Testa was the physically bigger fighter with a longer reach than Walsh and it showed throughout the fight as she needed to be fast on her feet the dodge the Italians strikes.

The judges were split with three siding with Walsh after the first round. The Irish boxers swerving and ducking had frustrated the Italians.

The cagey affair continued into the second round with some strong back and forth between the fighters.

Testa unanimously won the second round so Walsh now knew that everything would come down to the final clash of gloves.

Both athletes fought vigorously until the final bell with some powerful punches thrown in the last few seconds.

Unfortunately, it was not enough for Walsh as the judges sided 5-0 for Testa and her Olympic dream was over.

She now becomes Ireland’s third boxer defeated in Tokyo 2020 with Kurt Walker our only winner in the men’s featherweight division.

 

Boxing on tomorrow, Tuesday, 27th July

Men’s Welterweight (63-69kg) – Round of 16 – 03:30

Aidan Walsh (Ireland) v Albert Mengue Ayissa (Cameroon)

Ireland 7s’ Adam Leavy Joins List of St Michael’s Olympians

Ireland Men’s Sevens player Adam Leavy, alongside teammate Jack Kelly, became the latest Olympians and the first batch of rugby Olympians that St Michael’s College in Dublin has nurtured when they faced South Africa on Monday morning.

Leavy is part of a conveyor belt of talent over at St Michaels that includes Kelly, his brother Dan Leavy and James Ryan.

The school’s list of past Olympians includes a rower and a tennis player and the 25-year-old is honoured to put his name amongst theirs.

“Myself and Jack Kelly will be the third and fourth Olympians that have gone through the school which is amazing – it’s an amazing title to have to my name,” said Leavy.

The Sevens star could have crafted an Olympic career out of shot-putting but became more involved with rugby instead as he grew up.

He feels that the Ireland side’s chemistry will help them throughout their Olympic campaign.

The squad includes five ‘originals’ and many others that have been involved for several years.

“[The programme] has only been together for six years or so now, a lot of us have been in it since the start. I would have joined back in 2017 so there’s a huge amount of gelling in the squad and the connection will definitely stand to us.”

The tight-knit and accepting group will compete in their first Olympic Games in Tokyo this year.

Their hard work over the years paid off in June when they beat France in June at the Stade Louis II in Monaco to book their spot in Japan.

“Monaco was a crazy, crazy experience. Personally, all the emotions kind of hit me at once. I think I broke down at one stage – my brother was slagging me saying the hayfever was at me.”

Qualification was this Ireland side’s main focus since initially missing out in 2019 and to achieve it without their families there annoyed the former St Michael’s student.

Their families will not be able to get over to Tokyo either but Leavy understands that the restrictions are for the best.

On top of the games that lie ahead, against South Africa and the USA, Leavy is prepared for the downtime that this Ireland side will have.

“I have a few anime things on the hard drive, [I’ll] get involved with the culture and learn a bit of Japanese while I’m at it.”

The group will be able to keep each other company, as they have done many times before, perhaps through anime nights courtesy of Leavy.

Their chemistry can help them on and off the pitch as it has shown to do in the past.

With the side constantly improving, they can only go forwards at the Olympics, no matter how they do.

“[Our relationships are] definitely going to stand to us in a big way when we’re in the troughs.”

Ireland face the USA in the second round of pool games on Monday, July 26th at 10:30 am.

Ireland Ship 3 In 4th Quarter As Netherlands Win 4-0

The Ireland Women’s hockey team shipped three goals in the final quarter of the game against the Netherlands in their second pool game at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, losing 4-0.

Kathryn Mullan made her two-hundredth appearance for Ireland but Sean Dancer’s side couldn’t get the win against their European rivals.

After winning their first-ever game at the Olympics against South Africa, the World Cup runners-up endured their first loss in their second-ever game after the Dutch pressure persevered in the fourth quarter.

The Netherlands midfield had a stranglehold on the Irish attack from minute one at Oi Stadium, snuffing out any potential counters and maintaining their dominance.

Felice Albers opened the scoring for the Dutch after a counter of their own exposed holes left in the Irish defence.

Hannah Matthews rushed up to end the counter early but her gamble did not pay off and Albers coolly slotted past goalkeeper Ayeisha McFarren.

The first Dutch goal was expected to open the floodgates but the heroics of McFarren and Elena Tice frustrated the World Champions.

Ireland were the better side at the beginning of the second quarter after Dutch midfielder Laurien Leurink was shown a green card for a foul on Shirley McKay.

Their woman advantage did not last long as Hannah Matthews received the same punishment after bringing an end to a Dutch counter illegally.

The Irish grew tired in the final quarter and the reigning world champions took advantage of this.

Malou Pheninckx pounced on a fortunate ricochet from a penalty to slot a second and kill the tie.

Leurink made amends for her earlier discrepancy when she added the Netherlands’ third of the game before Frederique Matla got the goal she had deserved all game to put some gloss on the scoreline.

Ireland will face Germany in their next game in Pool A of the tournament at 4:15 am on Wednesday, July 28th.

Ireland Suffer 33-14 Defeat To SA On Olympic Debut

The Ireland Men’s Sevens side suffered a 33-14 defeat to South Africa in their Olympic debut at Tokyo Stadium in Tokyo on Monday morning.

The Pool C match-up was Ireland’s first-ever at the Olympic Games but Anthony Eddy’s side was not granted a fairytale beginning.

The South Africans looked composed in defence and were clinical in attack, forcing Irish errors and pouncing on them.

The Blitzboks lived up to their name by doing so and Ireland found it hard to stop them with their energy and skillset.

Ireland’s top try scorer Jordan Conroy appeared to injure his arm in the opening minute of the game and found it hard to put his stamp on the proceedings in Tokyo Stadium.

The Blitzboks’ Zain Davids opened the scoring with a nice step to put himself in clean air.

It only took four minutes for the South Africans to add a second try after a cross-field kick found Impi Visser who dotted down out wide.

Justin Geduld converted both of the Rio 2016 Bronze medallists first-half tries to give them a 14-0 lead.

Ireland’s Gavin Mullin reeled the Boks back in after exploiting a gap in their defensive line at the end of the first half – an otherwise high-quality blockade.

Billy Dardis added the extra two points to give Ireland some confidence heading into the second-half.

However, a second cross-field exploited space behind the Irish defensive line in their own 22 at the beginning of the second half, with Justin Geduld getting a try and converting it too.

Terry Kennedy burst through the South African defensive line to keep the game within reach for the boys in green with Dardis converting.

However, a controversial try was awarded against Ireland after Chris Dry was judged to have grounded the ball after a TMO check but the replays showed that there may have been a loss of control.

This took the game beyond the Irish with only minutes remaining and some fast feet by Jc Pretorius almost sent the Blitzboks in for a fifth try, which they later got via Stedman Gans.

Justin Geduld missed his final conversion but the result was sealed with victory for South Africa in the opening round.

Ireland will play the USA in their second game in Pool C at 10:30 am.

Jack Kelly: “I don’t think you can put anything above the Olympics.”

Ireland Men’s Sevens Star Jack Kelly sees the Olympics as the height of professional sports and is excited to become an Olympian with the rest of the national sevens side.

Kelly says the team is absolutely delighted to take part in the Men’s Sevens tournament in Tokyo this summer.

The 23-year-old believes the Olympics are like nothing else and said before leaving for Japan that the feeling of competing at one is still sinking in.

“[There was] a lot of months and weeks during lockdown where not much was going on and now everything’s happening at a hundred miles an hour. It’s a very exciting time for us,” said Kelly.

The side worked hard since losing out on the first European spot in 2019 and the collective goal that they shared helped them to stay focused throughout the pandemic.

The chemistry they honed for several years and hard work since their loss in Colomiers came together in June when they dismantled France in Monaco to book their tickets to Tokyo.

Kelly felt that these factors played a big part in their historic victory at the Stade Louis II Stadium.

Their celebrations were muted because of the coronavirus but the team were able to share some drinks on their hotel floor that night to commemorate the occasion.

“I think we’re quite a close squad…it was definitely a great moment and I think the fact that we couldn’t actually go out and we did just stay together was better for us because it made it all that bit more special.”

The strong chemistry that the side has will be important when there’s downtime, where they will keep each other company and respect each other’s privacy at different times – for example, when Jack wants to read or watch one of his downloaded Netflix movies.

The lads in the squad have also been contemplating getting the famous Olympic tattoo as a way to remember their achievement this year.

“I think, in terms of tattoos, it’s probably one of the more ok ones, you know, one of the ones that my parents wouldn’t be too angry at.”

However, their focus lies on their opening games on Monday, July 26th, when they will face South Africa and the USA.

Kenya is also part of their pool at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The St Michaels graduate believes that Ireland can beat both sides, as they have done before, provided they put the work in during the game.

Kelly does not feel like they have weapons that Anthony Eddy’s Ireland will not be able to deal with and that, with focus, they can impose dominance with weapons of their own, such as Jordan Conroy.

“We know that we’ve got a job to do when we’re out there.”

Click here to see the scheduled times for the Ireland Sevens’ first two games.

Watch video match highlights of Kerry easily beating Cork

Watch video match highlights of Kerry easily beating Cork in the 2021 Munster Football Final

 

Brendan Lawlor wins inaugural EDGA Cazoo Open

Brendan Lawlor carded rounds of 70-76 to win the inaugural EDGA Cazoo Open at The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales. The win is the second success at an EDGA European Tour event for the Co. Laois man.

Playing in the first of five 36-hole events forming the EDGA European Tour in 2021, Lawlor followed up his one under par opening round of 70 with a five over par round of 76.

The tournament featured eight of the top-ranked players on the World Rankings for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD). They competed on the same layout as the European Tour field is tackling at the Cazoo Open.

Lawlor, who has Ellis-Van Creveld syndrome, a disability characterised by a shorter stature and shorter limbs, finished ahead of Italy’s Tomasso Perrino for his second victory at an EDGA European Tour event. His maiden win came at the 2019 EDGA Scottish Open.

“An incredible week”

“It feels amazing,” said Lawlor. “It has been an incredible week. The hospitality and the course here at Celtic Manor has been amazing. To lift the trophy at the end of the week is just a pleasure, I’m delighted.

“The top EDGA players are competing and it’s hard to separate each other – whoever has a good day will win. We’re trying to get more and more people into the game and the European Tour has given us an amazing opportunity to promote the game on the world stage. It’s going to bring so many more people into the game and keep it moving forward.

“I enjoyed it. I’ve put a lot of work in; it was a long year stuck at home and I put a lot of work in hitting balls into a net. I kept myself ready because I knew we’d be back at some stage. It’s an honour playing courses like that. The fairways are lush, the tee boxes are lush. You have to blame yourself if you hit a bad shot, you can’t blame the course.”

The field of eight players will also take part in the ISPS HANDA World Disability Invitational, which is being hosted by Lawlor, next week at Massereene Golf Club and Galgorm Castle in County Antrim. The event will run concurrently with the ISPS HANDA World Invitational presented by Modest! Golf Management.

“I shot one under on the first day, basically off the back sticks, which is good shooting,” Lawlor added. “We can go out there and show we have game, and that’s the most important thing. That’s what people want to see. We had fans following me and Tomasso out there today, they loved to see it. I’m lost for words – it was a great week.”

EDGA Tour Schedule

After the ISPA HANDA World Disability Invitational presented by Brendan Lawlor, a new group of golfers taken from the WR4GD will participate in the EDGA Hero Open, at Fairmont St Andrews from August 7-8, and the EDGA Cazoo Classic, at London Golf Club from August 14-15.

The top four players from each group of two tournaments qualify for the returning EDGA Dubai Finale – the fifth and final EDGA European Tour event of 2021. This will be held alongside the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai on Friday and Saturday, November 19-20.

Scoring for the remaining four EDGA tournaments will feature on the European Tour’s website and App for fans to follow, while the tournament world feed broadcast will also feature updates across the weekend, with the winners also part of the main prize-giving ceremonies.

Posn Player Score Points
1 Brendan LAWLOR 146 24
2 Tomasso PERRINO 153 18
3 Felix NORRMAN 160 14
4 Mike BROWNE 164 10
5 Kenny BONTZ 165 8
6 Daphne VAN HOUTEN 175 6
7 Ryan BRENDEN 176 4
8 Timo KLISCHAN 181 2

 

Remainder of the EDGA European Tour Schedule

  • ISPS HANDA World Disability Invitational presented by Brendan Lawlor – Massereene and Galgorm Castle (July 31 – August 1)
  • EDGA Hero Open – Fairmont St Andrews (August 7-8)
  • EDGA Cazoo Classic – London Golf Club (August 14-15)
  • EDGA Dubai Finale – Jumeirah Golf Estates (November 19-20)

Mona McSharry qualifies for 100 Breaststroke semi-final

Team Ireland’s swimmer Mona McSharry secured her slot in the 100m Breaststroke semi-final in Tokyo Aquatic Centre today.

The Sligo native’s strong swim of 1:06.39 for third place in her heat was just shy of her PB of 1:06.29. Her 9th place finish overall qualifies her for tomorrow’s semi-final.

 “I really burned coming up the last 25m,” McSharry admitted. “I could see the Swiss coming up the right of me. I thought she almost had me, but I really pushed the last 10m. It’s really nice to be competing against great swimmers that are breaking records like that and say that you were in the same race as them.”

Danielle Hill was also in action on Sunday in the Women’s 100m Backstroke heat. She posted a time of 1:00.86 for 3rd place in her heat. She finished in 25th position overall.

Speaking afterwards, Hill said:

“I’m a little disappointed with how it went. I would have liked to perform a little bit better, especially given that it is an evening swim. At the same time, I’m proud to put the Irish hat on and represent Larne as well.”

Boxing

Emmet Brennan was the only Irish boxer in action on Sunday. The Dubliner lost out by unanimous decision in his Men’s Light Heavy Round of 32 bout against Dilshod Ruzmetov of Uzbekeztan.

World silver medallist, Ruzmetov, had a strong opening round, and though Brennan put the pressure on in the second round, Ruzmetov finished strong to progress to the next stage.

Speaking after the fight, Brennan said:

“I’m gutted. It’s an Olympic Games, you come here to win and ultimately, I was beaten in the first fight. He was a good opponent, but a loss is never easy – especially on the biggest occasion in the world. You want to go as far as you can, you know you need a best night every fight and I didn’t have my best night – it’s as simple as that.”  

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