Irish Olympians Ellen Walshe and Mona McSharry will return to the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup this October as they compete across the three-stop series in Central Asia and the Caucasus. The 2026 tour will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan (1-3 October), Tashkent, Uzbekistan (8-10 October) and Astana, Kazakhstan (15-17 October), providing a key international racing opportunity ahead of the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) later this year.
With the 2026 World Cup serving as a key stepping stone towards the World Aquatics Championships (25m), both swimmers arrive in strong form having won five medals (two gold, silver and two bronze), between them at the European Aquatics Championships (50m) in August.
The duo were standout performers across the 2025 World Cup series, combining for 12 medals and 12 Irish Senior Records as they established themselves among the world’s leading short-course swimmers. Their performances helped Ireland secure two top-ten overall rankings on the World Cup circuit.
For Walshe, the World Cup has become a stage on which she consistently thrives. The Templeogue swimmer enjoyed a breakthrough 2025 campaign, claiming two gold medals, four silver medals and one bronze medal, while setting six Irish Senior Records across the 200m Individual Medley, 400m Individual Medley and 200m Butterfly.
McSharry was equally impressive. The Olympic medallist collected one gold, three silver and one bronze medal during the 2025 series and rewrote the Irish record books with six Irish Senior Records across all three breaststroke distances.
Having enjoyed remarkable success last season, Walshe and McSharry will once again be among the athletes to watch as Ireland looks to make its mark on the global circuit.
World Aquatics World Cup Stop 1 – Baku, Azerbaijan (1-3 October)
Day 1
Women 200m Breaststroke Mona McSharry
Women 200m Butterfly Ellen Walshe
Day 2
Women 100m Breaststroke Mona McSharry
Women 400m IM Ellen Walshe
Day 3
Women 50m Breaststroke Mona McSharry
Women 200m IM Ellen Walshe
Comp Info
Thursday – Saturday schedule: Prelims: 7:00 / Finals: 16:00 (Thurs) 15:00 (Fri & Sat)
Watch: Eurovision Sport
