Afton Fitzhenry was named on the World Class Programme for 2024, joining at Podium Potential level as her canoeing career continues to develop.
Her career best achievements to date include sixth place in the C1 500m at the 2022 Poznan World Cup and bronze in the C1 200m at the 2018 European Under-23 Championships in Italy.
Elsewhere in 2022 Fitzhenry competed with Beth Gill in the women’s C2 500m, finishing sixth at the multi-sport European Championships in Munich. They also paddled at the World Championships in Canada, narrowly missing out on a place in the final.
Afton was part of the Northern Ireland Sea Cadets and raced nationally with them. She was inspired to try out for the Canoe Association of Northern Ireland Performance Squad and after two years she was selected for the UK Sport's London 2012 legacy talent identification programme Girls4Gold.