Mona McSharry became the first Irish swimmer to take part in an Olympic final since Michelle Smith in 1996.

McSharry came eighth in the final but Quinn was full of praise for the 20-year-old, who made her dreams come true.

“All these experiences are going to stand to Mona as she moves forward in her career because let’s be clear, this is only a step in Mona’s journey,” Quinn said on his daily review show.

The Irish senior record holder can add Olympic finalist to an already-impressive resumé that includes a World Championship in the 100m Breastroke and high finishes at senior European Championships.

At only 20 years of age, McSharry has her whole career ahead of her and can become an even better swimmer over time.

McSharry swam the final in 1:06.9 and Quinn feels there are a lot of positives she can take from her performance.

“Her dive was probably the best dive she’s done across the three rounds. She turned a 50 in 31.6, which was the same time she turned at the 50 in the semi-final.”

However, he feels that the University of Tennessee student used up the majority of her energy too early and it’s what cost her on the latter 50m.

McSharry’s run to becoming only the second Irish person to swim in an Olympic final has caught the eye of the Irish public.

The Sligo native was the third-youngest woman in the final and, at her age, could have several more Olympic appearances on the cards in the future, form permitting.

Olympian Quinn described the Olympic finalist as an inspiration for a generation.

“Mona won’t realise the impact she has had on others yet, but she will in years to come.”

The post Nicholas Quinn: ‘This Is Only A Step In Mona McSharry’s Journey’ appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

The sides will play in the tournament from July 26th to July 28th – the pool stage will take place from July 26th to July 27th.

The men’s competition will be held before the Women’s Olympic Sevens tournament gets underway in a reverse to the schedule from the Rio Olympic games in 2016.

The men’s draw split the 12 teams into three pools of four.

POOLS ANNOUNCEMENT

Mouthwatering match-ups in the early stages of the men's competition

The countdown to #Tokyo2020 is #HowWeSevens pic.twitter.com/BNsWcJGMi9

— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) June 28, 2021

Pool A involves bookies’ favourite New Zealand, Australia, Argentina and South Korea.

The former pair will renew their historic rivalry at the Olympics, making it the perfect opportunity for current Rugby World Cup Sevens and World Series champions New Zealand to make a statement in the pool stages.

Argentina will want to improve on their respectable sixth-placed finish at Rio 2016 with an impressive outing in Tokyo.

South Korea round off Pool A and will take part in Olympic Sevens for the first time in its history after winning the Asian qualification tournament with an extra-time ‘golden-point’ try to overcome Hong Kong.

Pool B includes Fiji, Great Britain, Japan and Canada.

Reigning Olympic champions Fiji will want to assert themselves early but face a tough task to do so in Pool B.

Great Britain will want revenge for their 43-7 defeat in the 2016 Olympic Sevens final at the hands of the champions and the draw has given them an opportunity to do that early.

The pair are joined by hosts Japan who will want to get a medal on home soil after their fourth-placed finish in Rio saw them miss out on one.

Another Olympic debutant Canada is the fourth team in this tough group and will have a lot to prove as a result.

The final pool – Pool C – includes Ireland, the USA, South Africa and Kenya.

Ireland are the last of the three Olympic debutants in Tokyo and face some tough challenges in the United States, South Africa and Kenya.

Anthony Eddy’s side beat 2016 quarter-finalists France to reach Tokyo.

The United States come in as third-favourites to win the Men’s Olympic Sevens tournament this summer and will be tough for opponents to handle.

Rio 2016 Bronze medalists South Africa will want to go at least one game further in the competition this summer.

Kenya failed to get out of their group in 2016 but have grown in the five years since and will pose a threat to the other three teams in the pool.

The draw makes for an exciting tournament in late July.

You can read the Irish Rugby announcement here.

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The competition will take place from July 26th to July 28th at Tokyo Stadium in the Japanese capital.

Ireland are familiar with all three of their opponents, having played them during the cancelled 2019-20 HSBC World Rugby Sevens series.

Anthony Eddy’s side has also faced the USA more recently in May at the Great Britain International 7s tournament in May.

The United States will be one of the top sides to beat at the tournament after impressive performances in the truncated World Series season.

Also present in the group are Rio 2016 bronze medalists South Africa.

Ireland drew 19-19 with the side in their last encounter during the Los Angeles round of the World Series on February 29th, 2020.

Ireland 7s stars Jordan Conroy and Billy Dardis got on the scoresheet that day.

The side last faced Kenya in December 2019 during the second round of the World Series in Cape Town.

The two teams played out a 24-24 draw on the day.

“We are familiar with these teams from the World Series and the reality is there are no easy games at this level,” Eddy, the IRFU Director of Sevens and Women’s Rugby, said. “We will prepare well for the Pool matches and look forward to each game. I think the Monaco tournament experience will put us in a good position for Tokyo.”

Ireland captain Billy Dardis described today’s announcement as an exciting marker for the side.

“It is going to be a very challenging Pool but we’ve come up against those three teams regularly before and will take confidence from previous meetings,” said Dardis. “We’re really looking forward to getting over to Tokyo and stepping onto the Olympic stage.”

You can view the announcement here.

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Qualification for the 2020 Paralympics began early last year and ran until January 31st 2020.

The allocation of two Para Dressage places for Ireland is based on the individual ranking list, and in-line with other equestrian disciplines, the final decision on which athletes will be selected to represent Ireland will take place before the August 3rd deadline for entries.

Para Dressage is the only Equestrian discipline that is included in the Paralympic Games, where it has been a regular fixture since 1996. The Para Dressage competition at the 2020 Paralympic Games will be held at Tokyo Equestrian Park from August 27th to 31st.

Individual medals will be decided on the first two days, followed by two days of team competition before the final freestyle titles will be decided on the final day of competition.

A total of 78 athletes and horses will compete at the Paralympic Games with a total of 11 medal events taking place across five grades of competition.

Horse Sport Ireland is also submitting an application for a possible third individual Para Dressage place at the Paralympics through the Bipartite Commission Invitation system, however with just three of these places available across the globe, competition for these places will be extremely competitive.

The Bipartite Commission Invitation qualification slots are granted on a discretionary basis by the International Paralympic Commission and the respective International Federation (in this case the FEI). Bipartite slots are awarded to the individual athlete, not to the National Paralympic Committee.

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