LOCAL young kayaking superstar Freddie Heard, 16, has been representing Great Britain in kayak sprint and ocean surfski racing at several international events this year - and even made history in one championship.

A member of Exeter Canoe Club, the Queen Elizabeth’s School and Hayward’s Primary School alumnus competed at the Junior and U23 Sprint Kayak World Championships in Halifax, Canada at the beginning of July.

He finished ninth in the world in the K4 500m (with Tom Hatton, Sam Dickson and Olivier Mazur) and 13th in the world in the K2 500m with his K2 partner Olivier Mazur.

At the end of July, he competed at the Junior and U23 Kayak Sprint European Championships in Szeged, Hungary. His K4 (with the same crew) achieved a bronze medal, making history by securing Great Britain's first-ever medal in the Junior Men's K4.

The result was even more significant because Great Britain had never previously reached a K4 podium at the European Junior and Under 23 Championships, in either the men's or the women's competitions.

Freddie then competed at the European Ocean Racing Championships in Brest, France at the end of August. Freddie finished ninth in the SS1 class (single ski) and won a bronze medal with partner Katie Luen-Twining in the SS2 class (double ski).

Freddie has just competed in the National Sprint Championships at Holme Pierrepoint, Nottingham, and will be competing at Olympic Hopes Sprint Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia later this month and at the World Ocean Racing Championships in Alicante, Spain at the beginning of next month.

Freddie has just started his A-levels at Exeter College alongside his international sporting commitments.

A kayak sprint is a race in a straight line over a flat water course. Ocean surfski racing is a race across 10- to 30-kilometre courses at sea.