Olympic bronze medalist Mona McSharry continues to make waves, setting a new Irish record in the 200m breaststroke on her way to gold at the Irish Open Championships in Bangor. Fresh off a 50m breaststroke title on Thursday, McSharry dominated Friday's final, clocking an impressive 2:22.22.

That time not only shattered the previous Irish record of 2:22.49 but also surpassed her own championship best from the morning heats. More impressively, it stands as the third-fastest time in the world this year, trailing only global stars Kate Douglass of the USA and Great Britain's Angharad Evans.

"It's pretty exciting," said the 26-year-old. "The 200m breaststroke is that event where you never really know where it's going to be on any given day. It's just nice to see the hard work in training pay off and be able to put together a really good race."

The meet was filled with standout performances, many hitting key qualification marks. Ellie McCartney took silver in the 200m breaststroke with a time under consideration for both the European Championships and Commonwealth Games. Paris Olympian Danielle Hill struck gold in the 50m backstroke, also swimming under the consideration time.

Grace Davison completed a freestyle double, adding the 200m title to her 100m win, while Ellen Walshe secured her third gold of the meet in the 100m butterfly. On the men's side, teenager John Shortt was in record-breaking form, setting a new championship record in the 50m backstroke to add to his earlier 100m backstroke gold.

Conor Ferguson, competing in his first tapered race since the Paris Olympics after a back injury, finished a close second in that event. "I'm absolutely delighted," Ferguson said. "Last year was such a rough year for me with the back injury. I didn't even know if I'd be back at this level."