Olympics: History-maker Mona McSharry 'proud' with eighth-place finish

'Of course it wasn’t a PB and was the slowest of the three rounds, but I think that comes as well from that there was a sense of relief in making it to the final'

Mona McSharry: 'There was a sense of relief in making it to the final'. Picture: INPHO/Morgan Treacy

Sligo’s history-making swimmer Mona McSharry finished eighth in her Olympic final this morning - her time of 1:06.94 in the final - slightly outside of her semi-final race of 1:06.59 as American teenager Lydia Jacoby took a surprise gold.

“It’s amazing, thinking about it like that, that there hasn’t been anyone else who has done this in 25 years, I think it puts it into perspective," she said after the final.