Mona McSharry and Ellie McCartney advance at European Championships

McSharry, who claimed silver in the 100m Breaststroke on Wednesday night in a new Irish record time, returned to action less than 15 hours later and looked comfortable as she clocked 2:23.37 in the 50m heats. 

Ireland’s Mona McSharry. Pic: Andrea Staccoli/Inpho

European silver medallist Mona McSharry and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Ellie McCartney will join Danielle Hill (50m Backstroke Final) and Jack Kelly (200m Breaststroke Final) in Thursday evening's session after both swimmers safely negotiated the heats of the 200m Breaststroke at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris.

McSharry, who claimed silver in the 100m Breaststroke on Wednesday night in a new Irish record time, returned to action less than 15 hours later and looked comfortable as she clocked 2:23.37 in the heats. 

The Sligo swimmer advances as the second-fastest qualifier overall after finishing second in her heat behind 100m Breaststroke champion Angharad Evans of Great Britain, who touched in 2:22.66.

McSharry said: "I'm feeling good, I think, again, same as the 100 (Breaststroke), you have to get one out of the way, just to see where you're at. But I'm feeling good and happy with that swim, so hopefully tonight can go a bit faster."

Looking ahead to the semi-final she added: "I think just putting together a similar rate, I'll be in the first heat again, so just have to lay it out on the line and put a good time on the board and get a good position for the final hopefully."

Ellie McCartney posted a time of 2:26.95 to finish third in the opening heat of the event. 

The National Centre Limerick swimmer progresses as the ninth seed for the semi-finals and will be aiming to move closer to her personal best of 2:23.79 as she bids to reach her first final of the championships.

McCartney said: "I'm super happy. Comparing it to racing last week in Glasgow (Commonwealth Games), both my hundreds (Breaststroke) were faster than over there and this morning I was two seconds faster than my heat in Glasgow, so I'm excited for tonight."

200m Backstroke finalist John Shortt was also back in action on Thursday morning. 

After finishing seventh in Wednesday night's final, the Galway swimmer contested the 50m Backstroke. Shortt won his heat in 25.11, just one tenth of a second outside his lifetime best of 25.01 but narrowly missed out on a place in the semi-finals. 

He will return to action on Saturday in the 100m Backstroke.

Four Irish swimmers were in action in the 200m Freestyle heats, with National Centre Limerick's Evan Bailey leading the Irish challenge in 1:47.67. 

Fellow NCL swimmers Cormac Rynn and Denis O'Brien clocked 1:50.00 and a personal best 1:51.51, respectively, while Liam Custer, who broke the Irish 400m Individual Medley record on the opening day of competition, continued his strong form with a lifetime best of 1:53.34.

In the 100m Butterfly heats, National Centre Ulster's Alana Burns-Atkin posted a time of 1:01.34.