According to Tennessee Athletics, For the third time in her career, Erika Connolly brought home Olympic hardware, as Team USA’s 4×100 free relay finished second overall on the opening day of competition.
After winning silver in the 4×100 medley relay and bronze in the 4×100 free relay during the 2020 Tokyo Games, Connolly became the first Lady Vol swimmer ever to win three Olympic medals and joined Melvin Stewart as the only swimmers in Tennessee history to achieve the feat. With Connolly’s silver, UT now boasts 16 Olympic medals between its men’s and women’s programs.
Also, For the second time in her career, Tennessee’s Mona McSharry (Ireland) earned a spot in the 100 breast finals during day two of Olympic competition.
After sitting in third following prelims, the three-time NCAA silver medalist broke her Irish national record in the event by throwing down a 1:05.51 effort to punch her ticket to the finals and secure the second-best time of the semifinals. During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, McSharry became just the second Irish swimmer ever to compete in a final, going on to finish eighth overall.