Paris 2024: Jack Woolley's candid comments about 'headspace' highlight what really matters

One of the most gratifying aspects of seeing Mona McSharry start Ireland's medal charge at Paris 2024 wasn't just because of which nation she was representing.

And it wasn't just because she hails from one of the north-west counties.

About a week before flying out to the Games, McSharry and other Team Ireland swimmers gathered at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Blanchardstown and when it was time to speak to McSharry, the Sligo swimmer was relaxed and all smiles as she opened up about her build-up to her second Olympics.

"I just questioned why am I doing this and I was very unhappy. I love it very differently now," she said, when asked how she had fallen back in love with the sport.

We need your consent to load this comcast-player content We use comcast-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preferences

The genesis for the question lay in comments she had made at the start of the year. Speaking to RTÉ Sport's James McMahon, a fellow Sligo native, she poured out her heart and soul about the depths she had plunged to in the summer of 2022 when the demands of college and elite swimming got on top of her.

"It just came to a head some Sunday in the middle of summer," she said.

"I remember waking up and I was really upset, crying, I didn't know why I was crying. I was really unhappy. I called my friends from home, I was talking to them anyway, we talked through it and they helped me realise what was going on and I didn’t realise it stemmed from swimming.

"I thought I was just stressed from school, from other things, and never really realised that maybe swimming was the cause. I had come to the