Still finding her feet as a new professional athlete, Mona McSharry returns to the rhythm of championship medal hunting this week.Ireland’s first medal winner at the Paris Olympics two years ago has returned to the City of Light for the European Aquatics Championships – although the venue has switched from La Défense to Saint-Denis – and gets her campaign under way on Tuesday in the 100m breaststroke.McSharry is part of Swim Ireland’s largest ever contingent at the Europeans and there are plenty of medal hopefuls. Such is the sport’s standing now, after the exploits of McSharry and Daniel Wiffen, RTÉ will be broadcasting live from the Olympic Aquatic Centre.Wiffen has had his struggles over the past 12 months as he fights to regain his world-class form and fitness after suffering from appendicitis, but he will take confidence from winning silver in the 1,500m freestyle at the Commonwealth Games after a tough week.McSharry’s journey has been smoother but, since completing her master’s in May, she has been negotiating the path from life as a scholarship student in Tennessee to fully fledged professional athlete.She had initially thought, in the wake of her Olympic bronze medal success, that it would be her final Games. But she took a long break, travelled across the west coast of America, and was pleasantly surprised to find the return to training a smooth process as she finished out her NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) commitments.“At one point I genuinely thought I might retire after NCAAs,” the 25-year-old said. “But I fell back into swimming so easily after taking six months off. I thought, ‘maybe let’s see how the Worlds go this summer’.“Sadly I got sick so I didn’t really get to show myself there. But I realised I still had the hunger to perform. I remember meeting my sports psychologist over a year after the Olympics. We’d done loads of visualisation before Paris and he wanted me to talk through the race. Reliving it and talking about possibly doing LA, I got really excited. That’s when I realised maybe I wasn’t ready to be done.“I sat on it until May and then decided I really did want to give it another two years. I didn’t want to force myself into it. Now I’m excited and I think it’ll fly by.”Mona McSharry competing in a semi-final of the women's 100m breaststroke at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images Acknowledging it has been a different kind of year, the Sligo woman quickly added that it has been “refreshing” to make the big change having made the decision to continue on to LA.“The biggest challenge is that I’m no longer on scholarship,” said McSharry. “While I was finishing school I still had that support but now I’m paying for everything myself.“Being on scholarship allowed me to be a bit more relaxed. Now I have to make smarter decisions, pick competitions where there is prize money so I can hopefully break even on travelling.“I’m lucky because I’m a carded athlete and I get support that way. Whether I’ll walk away from swimming with money, I’m not sure. But it’s worth it and I’ll figure everything else out.“It hasn’t really hit me yet because I’ve always had summers off. It still feels like I’ll have to go back to school in September, but I won’t. It’ll be nice not having part of my brain focused on assignments. I can just relax or take a nap.“It will be fine because I probably keep myself too busy. I like gardening, knitting and all those sorts of things. The problem is actually sitting down and relaxing.”[ ‘Just race your heart out’: Ellen Walshe bringing impressive momentum to European Aquatics ChampionshipsOpens in new window ]Having said that, the 25-year-old confessed that she approached the changeover wondering how it was going to work out as she knew the main priority for her Tennessee coaches at certain times of the year is those competing in SECs (Southeastern Conference) and NCAAs.But she had chosen to go there because the coaches also focus on Olympic athletes and there has been no change towards her. When the team travels, McSharry enjoys doing the odd session by herself and with the five or six other pro swimmers that are part of the group.Even in terms of nutrition, she often preferred to cook rather than take advantage of her access to athlete dining, while she works with her own physiotherapist.Thus she is happy to stay where she is before coming home to Ireland after the LA Games.Before that, there will be plenty of international competitions to sharpen her instincts. She competes in the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke this week – she gets under way in the 100m on Tuesday morning. Tatjana Smith of South Africa, Tang Qianting of China and Mona McSharry on the podium for 100m breaststroke at the Paris Olympics. Photograph: Sarah Stier/Getty Images If she makes a podium, it will be her first time to do so on the European long-course stage.“I know I have the ability to be on the podium, but rather than thinking I deserve to be there, I’m just approaching it knowing I can compete with whoever makes the final,” said McSharry. “I’m taking it round by round, knowing I have the potential to get my hand on the wall first, and then just seeing what happens on the day.”And that Olympic bronze medal, where is it now? “It stays in Tennessee most of the time but I brought it home this time,” she said with a smile.“I forget about it, to be honest. I moved house recently and it was packed away in storage somewhere.“I probably should have it sitting out where I can see it and remember what I achieved, but it just stays tucked away in the back of the wardrobe.”