Mona McSharry began making her post-Olympic travel plans in 2022. The University of Tennessee swimmer knew she would need an extended break after all the grueling training preparing for Paris.
McSharry had arranged to take the 2024 fall semester off from UT before starting work on her master’s degree. The Ireland native had always dreamed of visiting the Pacific Northwest and figured she might as well explore the surrounding states as well.
McSharry asked her best friend from Ireland if she wanted to accompany her on the road trip.
“I didn’t think she was gonna say yes, because she’s a teacher at a primary school,” McSharry says. “But she jumped at the idea. She’s like, ‘Hell yeah. I’d love to,’ and she took the year off of school teaching.”
The trip became even more memorable once McSharry captured the bronze medal in the 100-meter breaststroke at the 2024 Paris Olympics. After competing in Tokyo during COVID, McSharry’s medal breakthrough was even sweeter because most of her family and friends could attend in person.
“I had just an outstanding amount of support in the stadium, which was very calming for me,” McSharry says. “That’s something that I probably won’t experience again. I was really lucky that I happened to go to a Games that was really close to home. People ask me about my favorite part about the Olympics – the medal is amazing – but I think just the support around it was my favorite part.”
Celebratory road trip
Once she returned to Knoxville for a short stretch, McSharry packed her bags and drove her Mini Cooper to Denver with her dog riding shotgun in September to meet her friend. They rented a sleeper van and began their tour of the West.
They visited Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Death Valley National Park, Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon. They saw the Oregon coastline, made stops in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and hung out in Moab, Utah.
The last two weeks were spent back in Colorado skiing and exploring the area. After 66 days on the road, McSharry finally drove home to Knoxville.
“It was honestly the trip of a lifetime, but definitely one that I’ll be doing again,” McSharry says. “Not the same trip, but I could have done that for a year and I would have been happy. It was just amazing.”
McSharry and her friend lived the true van life to give them more flexibility and save money. They spent only four nights total in hotel rooms while they were in San Francisco and Las Vegas.
“There was really no schedule,” McSharry says. “We had a rough idea of where we wanted to go, but after training for so long and having such a regimented schedule, it was so nice to just be able to relax and not have to focus on training or any sort of goals and just experience life with my favorite people.”
One last college season
Even before winning an Olympic medal, McSharry’s success in the pool was impressive. She’s won six SEC championships and is a three-time NCAA silver medalist in the breaststroke events. She has set six Irish national records, four UT program records and earned 23 All-America honors.
McSharry has one semester of eligibility remaining for swimming, and will be attempting to earn more accolades over the next few months for the Lady Vols.
“It’s definitely weird being back after such a long break and trying to figure out what my goal should be, especially short term for SECs and NCAAs,” McSharry says. “But I think I’m mostly just trying to really enjoy this year of swimming until the summer and then decide, do I want to keep swimming or not?”
McSharry has not ruled out competing in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics if she still has the hunger and drive to compete. But once she is done with swimming, she wants to settle down on a big piece of land with lots of animals.
“I’m so passionate about dogs and rescue dogs specifically, so doing something along those lines, or just being able to have a farm, I think would be kind of my ideal job,” McSharry says. “It doesn’t really pay a whole lot, so I’m not sure how that looks. But I do also think it would be pretty cool to work in strength and conditioning for a while, maybe with a pro group back in Ireland or maybe here at a college.”
Family of fitness
McSharry’s strength exploits are well known in Ireland. The McSharrys appeared on the popular Irish TV show “Ireland’s Fittest Family” in 2019 and were crowned champions. McSharry, her parents and her younger brother competed in obstacle course-like activities, including hanging on a bar above the sea for as long as possible and pulling a small plane down a runway.
“I wasn’t surprised we won because my whole family is pretty athletic, but then we’re also just extremely competitive. I think that just shines through,” McSharry says. “It was a lot of fun. I definitely still have people who, yes, know me for swimming, but they’re more interested in knowing me for Ireland’s Fittest Family.”
As she explored parts of the U.S. during her road trip, McSharry was able to contemplate everything that happened in 2024. It started on an extremely sad note as she mourned the loss of Ben Kredich, the son of UT Director of Swimming and Diving Matt Kredich, who was struck and killed by an impaired motorist while walking in Knoxville. But it ended with more milestones and memories for McSharry to cherish.
“It was just an amazing year full of learning and great experiences, and definitely some tough times,” she says. “But at the end of it all, I walked away with an Olympic medal, which is really exciting. I was really grateful.”