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12th October 2021
08:31am BST

Irish Olympic medallist Rob Heffernan and family have partnered with Bord Bia to celebrate World Egg Day this Friday 8th October. Irish Olympians Rob and Marian Heffernan, and their sport star children Cathal and Meghan, are encouraging the public to ‘Crack On’ and take advantage of eggs as fuel for a busy lifestyle. The Heffernan’s will be pairing off against each other on World Egg Day in a Cooking Challenge, judged by fellow Olympian Derval O’Rourke. Bord Bia’s ‘Crack On’ campaign highlights how versatile and nutritious Quality Mark eggs can be for a range of meal occasions. Packed with protein, rich in vitamins and minerals, and quick and easy to prepare, eggs are an ideal choice for lunch and dinner. Log on to BordBia.ie/Eggs or search ‘Bord Bia Eggs Recipes’ to discover recipe inspiration.[/caption]
As well as kick-starting her career, the last few years have been busy for the Heffernan family generally. Her two eldest - Meghan and Cathal - have already represented Ireland in underage football, and they also joined their parents on the celebrity edition of Ireland's Fittest Family in 2019.
With two Olympians as parents, there is no shortage of guidance for the Heffernan children, but Marian admits it's important that they strike a balance, and make decisions for themselves. After all, her children are pursuing football rather than athletics, so they won't necessarily have all the answers.
"You kind of have to leave them to find their own way, because they're going through it and we're not," she explains.
"We're probably a little bit switched off from the competitive side of things but we still know the lifestyle, we still know the application so it is just balancing those two really and trying to support them the best we can."
Indeed, Marian's passion for health and fitness is widespread in her home. In fact, her children joined her in her partnership with Bord Bia to mark #WorldEggDay 2021.
Beyond that, Marian notes the importance in promoting health and fitness to Ireland's budding athletes. Looking ahead, she feels the future is certainly very bright.
"There is - and there always has been - so much talent coming through in Ireland. The raw material is there, the athletes are there. Athletes are investing more into themselves, and they're getting into the health and fitness side of things. They're using their voice. There is so much growth, and there is so much opportunity, so I think the next 10 years will be brilliant for athletics in Ireland."Explore more on these topics: