
Ellen Walshe eighth in 200m IM final at World Championships, Mona McSharry misses out on 100m breaststroke final
Ellen Walshe
has finished eighth in the women's 200m individual medley final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
The Templeogue swimmer touched the wall in 2:11.57, a second off her time from Sunday's semi-final when she set a new Irish record of 2:10.40.
Racing in her first final at a long course (50m) World Championships, Walshe said: 'I think to be in my first world final tonight, it's a huge experience, out against some massive names in a 200 IM.
'A little bit disappointed, but sure roll on to the next one.'
READ MORE
Walshe will now switch her attention to the women's 200m butterfly, racing in the heats on Wednesday.
'I've never raced it internationally at this level, so I'm excited to kind of see where I can get, if it's a semi-final or I'm not even sure, but I'm looking forward to it,' the 23-year-old added.
Olympic bronze medallist
Mona McSharry
was also in action on Monday. The Sligo swimmer was unable to progress to the women's 100m breaststroke final, clocking 1:06.33 to rank 11th overall, just outside the qualification.
McSharry will return to the pool on Thursday for the women's 200m breaststroke.
Evan Bailey, meanwhile, made his first appearance in a World Championships semi-final, finishing 16th in the men's 200m freestyle in 1:48.75.
'It was amazing to walk out there,' the 20-year-old said after the race. 'I mean, like the atmosphere and just everyone in the crowd, screaming – I walked out, it was surreal. It was a great to experience it and to get that experience on the world stage, and I'm really grateful to have been in that semi-final.
'My race plan didn't go to plan, I'm a bit disappointed with that. I'll have to go back and reassess with my coach on what went wrong there, but then there's always positives to come back on, to get an experience on that level. It'll just be good to build on in the future,' he added.
In the 100m backstroke, two-time Olympian
Danielle Hill
clocked 1:00.79 in the women's event to finish 18th, while John Shortt touched the wall in 54.26 for 26th, both outside semi-final qualification.
On Tuesday, Olympic champion
Daniel Wiffen
will look to retain his 800m freestyle World Championship title, which he claimed in Doha last year, five months before his triumph in the event at the Paris Olympics.
Jack Cassin will also be in action for Ireland in the men's 200m butterfly.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


RTÉ News
2 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Ireland defeat Scotland to secure promotion to Europe's topflight and a place in the World Cup Qualifiers.
The Ireland Men's Hockey Team secured a confident 3-1 win over Scotland in their EuroHockey Championship II Semi-Final in Portugal this afternoon. A Lee Cole dragflick set Ireland on their way before a Louis Rowe brace put daylight between the teams. The win sees Ireland progress to tomorrow's EuroHockey Championship II Final against Wales, as they look to retain their 2023 title, while also guaranteeing them promotion to the EuroHockey Championships in 2027 and a place at the 2026 FIH World Cup Qualifiers. A strong start from Ireland saw them challenge the Scottish defence early in the game with Matthew Nelson testing Scottish goalkeeper Calum Douglas early before a penalty corner eventually materialising from the rebound that followed. Ireland's first effort resulted in a re-award, with Lee Cole finding the net with a dragflick on his 149th appearance to give Ireland an early lead. Ireland almost doubled their lead in the closing minutes of the first quarter when Louis Rowe got on the end of an excellent run and delivery from Jonny Lynch, but his shot was just wide of the post. A shift in the press from Scotland in the second quarter saw them enjoy more possession and apply more pressure, eventually winning them a penalty corner after 23 minutes. Jaime Carr was, however, on hand to palm away the attempt on goal that resulted to maintain Ireland's lead. Ireland manufactured their best chance of the third quarter when Louis Rowe won a penalty corner, deflecting the ball onto a Scottish foot following a good delivery from the baseline by Fergus Gibson. Rowe was the option from the penalty corner; his initial effort was blocked by the Scottish runner, but the Banbridge forward was alive to the free ball and slapped it calmly past Douglas to give Ireland a 2-0 lead. Momentum now with them in the final minutes of the third quarter, Ireland attacked with purpose. Jonny Lynch beat his opposite number well to make his way to the baseline and find Adam McAllister whose effort on goal was deflected over the Scottish keeper and into the net to extend Ireland's lead to three at the end of the third quarter. Scotland, however, were not down and out. An early goal a minute into the final quarter from Robert Field kept their hopes of a comeback alive. Ireland quickly quelled the Scottish momentum, pinning the opposition back and running down the clock to hold onto their 3-1 win. Speaking after the game, head coach Mark Tumilty said, "the goals this week were to get back to the EuroHockey Championships and make the World Cup Qualifiers. Now we have one more since we have made the final; to go out and win it." The win sees Ireland progress to tomorrow's final where they will face Wales at 4pm Irish Time (live on EuroHockey TV).


Irish Times
36 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Who is Ireland's greatest ever Lion?
Nine Irish players start in the Lions Test side in back-to-back weeks. But will this be remembered as a vintage tour, even with all the Irish representation? Is it difficulty to get up for the third test after last week's series-winning drama? And with Tadhg Furlong in line for his ninth consecutive start for the Lions in Test matches this Saturday, is he in the conversation of greatest ever Irish Lion? John O'Sullivan and Nathan Johns preview the third test between the Lions and the Wallabies. Produced by John Casey.


Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Women's Open: Leona Maguire makes cut but well behind leader Yamashita
Leona Maguire was the only of the three Irish players to make the cut at the Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl but her second round of 73 left her 12 shots off the lead on one over. Maguire failed to ignite with only one birdie on the day, as Lauren Walsh agonisingly missed the cut by one stroke after a 75. Anna Foster was well off the pace at 11 over. Seaside golf can meddle with the most patient of characters. Lottie Woad had played herself firmly into the second-round mix at this Women's Open at five under par, but the 16th at Royal Porthcawl was to bite back at English golf's golden girl. Woad's second shot found trouble – it took Lydia Ko, one of Woad's playing partners, to find the ball – and her third swing barely caused any movement whatsoever. Woad called for a referee, plus a second opinion, in her belief that her ball was now embedded and worthy of free relief. With the claims refused, she had to declare the ball unplayable. This grisly affair eventually culminated in a triple-bogey seven and a round of 70 which for so long had looked like further demonstrating Woad's rapid ascent to the summit of her sport. READ MORE 'There was a lot more good in it than bad,' said Woad. 'I played really well for 17 holes, just that one hole cost me a bit. 'I think it's probably the toughest hole on the course. The tee shot is hard to hit the fairway and then you've got three wood into a very strong wind. Anything that's missing the target is going to be exaggerated. So I pushed it and got a pretty unlucky lie. It wasn't too thick around there apart from where I was. So I couldn't really do much with that.' Woad admitted she was disappointed that officialdom had declared that her ball was not embedded. 'I just had to forget about it as quickly as possible,' she added. Woad missed from four feet for a birdie at the last, meaning she remains nine adrift of the lead. By her own admission, and even owing for the vagaries of links, that may already be too far. The broader problem for Woad and all others is that Miyu Yamashita has taken quite a grip on this tournament. The Japanese player's 65 launched her to 11 under, meaning a three-shot lead over her compatriot Rio Takeda. Yamashita's bogey-free round included a stunning back nine of 32. Close inspection of Yamashita's form indicates her prominence in Wales should be no real surprise. While the terrain might be somewhat different from what the 23-year-old is used to, jousting at the summit of leaderboards appears second nature. She has won 13 times on the Japan Tour and had 43 top-three finishes since April 2021. In this, her rookie year on the LPGA Tour, she has recorded 10 top-20 finishes from 16 starts. Yamashita shares her name with a Japanese wrestler, which must lead to some interesting moments when observers are punching letters into Google. The golfing Yamashita missed the cut in the Women's Open last year. She appears on a mission to make up for that. Lindy Duncan's 70 moved her to four under, where she has Pajaree Anannarukarn and Chiara Tamburlini for company. Madelene Sagström moved into touching distance of the group behind Yamashita, the Swede's 69 meaning a three-under total at the 36-hole point. At two under, Porthcawl member Darcey Harry comfortably survived for the weekend. The world number one, Nelly Korda, like Woad and Harry, is at minus two, while there was a golden moment for Steph Kyriacou, who made a hole in one with her gap wedge at the 8th.