Ireland’s Mona McSharry secured her first gold medal of the 2026 World Aquatics World Cup series on Friday, clocking 1:04.21 in the 100m breaststroke final in Baku, Azerbaijan, to become the only swimmer under 65 seconds.
Mona McSharry Claims Gold in Baku With Sub-65 Second Swim
Having topped the rankings in the morning heats with a time of 1:04.94, McSharry accelerated further in the final. Her gold-winning mark of 1:04.21 secured just the second World Cup gold medal of her career, following a previous title in the 50m breaststroke at the Westmont stop of the 2025 series.
The victory builds on a strong start to the week in Azerbaijan. McSharry opened her campaign by winning a silver medal in the 200m breaststroke event on Thursday.
The Sligo swimmer and Grange native arrives in strong form following an impressive summer. McSharry and Ellen Walshe won five medals between them—including two gold, one silver, and two bronze—at the European Aquatics Championships in August. During the 2025 World Cup series, McSharry collected one gold, three silver, and one bronze medal while rewriting the Irish record books with six Irish Senior Records across all three breaststroke distances.
Podium Finishes and International Competition in Baku
South Africa’s Aimee Canny captured silver behind McSharry in the 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:05.21. Russia’s Evgeniia Chikunova, who won Thursday’s 200m breaststroke, took bronze in 1:05.64.
Fellow Olympian Ellen Walshe also returned to competition on Friday. Following her silver medal in the 200m butterfly on Thursday, the Templeogue swimmer contested the 400m individual medley, finishing fifth in 4:29.13.
China’s Yiting Yu claimed the gold medal in the 400m individual medley in 4:24.09, while Great Britain’s Abbie Wood took silver in 4:27.95. Decided by the narrowest of margins at the wall, the bronze medal was claimed by China’s Mohan Chang in 4:28.76, edging out Japan’s Waka Kobori—who clocked 4:28.77—by a mere 0.01 seconds.
Upcoming Schedule Across Central Asia and the Caucasus
The current tour forms part of a three-stop series across Central Asia and the Caucasus designed to provide key international racing opportunities ahead of the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) later this year.
McSharry and Walshe previously established themselves among the world’s leading short-course swimmers during the 2025 World Cup circuit, combining for 12 medals and 12 Irish Senior Records to help Ireland secure two top-ten overall rankings.
The 2026 series continues in Baku through Saturday before moving to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from October 8–10, and concluding in Astana, Kazakhstan, from October 15–17. McSharry is set to swim in the 50m breaststroke on Saturday while Walshe takes on the 200m individual medley, marking the continued participation of the Irish pair.
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