A day in the bog: How Mona McSharry's family counted down the hours to her Olympic final

As the country got itself in a frazzle waiting for the final, they did the most normal thing in the world for them - they went to the bog.

Mona McSharry of Ireland before the women's 100 metre breaststroke final at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Picture: Ian MacNicol/Sportsfile

At exactly 3.17 this morning a bleary-eyed nation watched Sligo’s Mona McSharry compete in the Olympic Breaststroke 100m final at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre.

Back at her family home in Grange her mum Viola, dad Aidan were watching with her brother Mouric, 18, and sister Luca, 12, in the company of an RTÉ TV crew who would facilitate a live link to Dublin after the race.