#CANOEING: Ciaran Heurteau first represented Ireland in 2006, but he reached new heights today when he finished fifth in the canoe slalom World Cup final in Pau in the Pyrenees.

The 24-year-old, who was brought up in Paris but has an Irish mother, qualified for the  final by finishing third in the semi-final, and he competed well. Chasing an exceptional mark of 100.17 seconds set by Etienne Daille of France, Heurteau came down the course in 102.32 seconds, but he had touches on gates 12 and 24 (the second last on the course), which resulted in four seconds in time faults. Daille took gold, while Heurteau was less than a second off a bronze medal.

Canoe Slalom World Cup, Pau, France (Irish interest)

Men,

K1 Semi-Final (First 10 to Final) : 3 C Heurteau 101.74; 22 E Rheinisch 106.90

Final: 1 France (E Daille) 100.17, 2 Czech Republic (J Vondra) 101.46, 3 Australia (L Delfour) 105.40; 5 Ireland (C Heurteau) 106.32.