Cé sin Ciarán?

Born in the Parisien suburbs, from an Irish mother Aveen Mc Ardle, and a French father Pascal Heurteau, Ciarán spent most of childhood telling people how to pronounce his name. That made him realised that he was no ordinary kid, and immediately became the "Irench" in his group of friends.

It's around 1994 that Ciarán found his call in the sport of Kayak Slalom Racing. He instantly got hooked with the adrenaline that whitewater was giving him. Even though the rivers around him were very flat his club got him to travel all around in search for some steep rapids.

He knew from the start that his goal would be to represent Ireland at the highest level, and he's now hoping to represent his country at the 2012 London Olympics.

After a big injury during New Zealand's 2010 summer in one of it's darkest and most remote rivers, Ciarán's everyday focus has been to come back to the highest level. Narrowly missing out on an Olympic spot (0.84s), his goal is clear, to get that spot at the 2012 European Championship in Augsburg, May 13-14.