Name:Eoin Rheinisch. Schools:Coláiste Chiarán, Leixlip, Co Kildare (Rheinisch was in the same year at Coláiste Chiarán as last week's 60 Seconds' respondent, Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Emma Byrne).

Sport:

Canoeing.

Other school sports:My father, Donal, played hurling and football for Dublin so naturally myself and my brothers played those sports too growing up. But once I took up canoeing at 12 I really got in to it and it became my main sport from then on.

Who got you started?With four boys in the family all taking up canoeing (with the Salmon Leap club in Leixlip) you can imagine how competitive it was. My eldest brother, David, competed at World Cup level and, later, Aidan at international level too, so they got me in to it, and then pushed me on, and pushed me hard.

The Best of Days:It was my last year in school, I was 17, and I went to the British Open in Wales. It was just one of those days when everything clicked and I won. It was unexpected, but brilliant.

The Worst of Days:It was later the same year, I went to Austria for the Junior World Championships with high hopes. There were 100 of us, only the top 20 made it through to the final . . . and I came 21st after touching a gate. The worst thing was I had to do the demonstration run the next day for the finalists and my time would have put me in the medals. A nightmare.

Most inspiring sporting memory:Just watching the Olympic Games in general, and of course, seeing people like Ian Wiley, from my own sport, competing at that level. It's such an incredible sporting event, it always captured my imagination.

I wished I was:Probably Kelly Slater, the American surfer – he was world champion nine times. If I hadn't taken up canoeing I would have liked to try surfing at a competitive level.

If I could turn back time:I would have started canoeing when I was younger – most of the leading people in the sport started when they were six or seven.

The value of school sport to you:Competitive sport gives you a sense of determination and a strength of character. Most importantly, as you're growing up, it teaches you how to lose as well as win.

Most Admired:Usain Bolt. I was lucky enough to have been in the stadium in Beijing to see him winning one of his golds, his family and friends were near me so the atmosphere was fantastic. His confidence borders on arrogance, but he gets away with it, to have that kind of attitude and that level of success at such a young age is just incredible.

One sporting wish:On a personal level to win an Olympic gold is the ultimate dream, but more than anything I would love to see the sport grow in Ireland – but we just don't have the facilities. I'm in France at the moment and there are 66 white-water courses in the country – there isn't one in Ireland. And I suppose the recession has killed any chance of that changing. We've had good success in the sport, it just makes you wonder how good we could be if we had the facilities.

Eoin Rheinisch (29) is one of the world’s leading canoeists, finishing fourth at last summer’s Olympic Games in the K1 Kayak final, just seconds away from a medal.