Mona McSharry set another national record but agonisingly missed out on a medal at World Short Course Swimming Championships in Dubai on Friday.
The Sligo woman clocked 29.59 in the final of the 50m breaststroke to better the previous national record she set in the semi-finals of 29.65.
But the 21-year-old was beaten to the bronze medal by just 0.04 seconds by Sweden's Sophie Hansson.
Israel’s Anastasia Gorbenko took gold and Italy’s Benedetta Pilato was second.
McSharry, based at the University of Tennessee, had mixed emotions after the race.
She said: "I can’t but be happy with a PB, and I progressed through the rounds, which is great to see of course. Fourth is gut-wrenching, but if you look at it the other way, I was fourth, that’s not horrendous.
"It’s definitely something to improve on and I do love racing the 50, it sets me up really well for the rest of the week, and I can’t dwell on it now. I just have to move on and do better later on.
"Anyone of those eight could have touched the wall first. With any 50, that’s just the way it happens. Any little thing can go wrong. At Europeans I managed to get a medal from lane eight. The three that got it today were just the best in the moment."
McSharry will back in the pool on Saturday as the 100m individual medley heats get under way.
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
