Career
At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, he was eliminated in the repechages of both the K-2 500 m and the K-4 1000 m events. Four years later in Moscow, Burns was eliminated in the repechages of the K-1 500 m event. At his third and final Summer Olympics in Seoul, he was eliminated in the semifinals of the K-2 1000 m event.
Declan, to his own disliking, is more widely recognised for his participation in the "Superstars" event and his pull-up record breaking credentials.
Declan would have preferred being more recognised for his first sport, kayaking, but his all round ability as an athlete led him to this new challenge. Declan performed well in all events and set a new world record for pull-ups in a minute (57 at the time) but fell just short of first place to South African racing driver Jody Schekter.
Declan"s incredible performance on the world stage propelled him to fame in his own country of Ireland, he became a household name in the process. He broke the world record for pull-ups on numerous occasions and is what he became most famous for in his home country.
Declan also participated at many world championships, most notably in Duisburg in "79 when he exited at the semi-final stage of the K1-500 after coming 4th, to the eventual gold, silver and bronze medal winners of the event.
lieutenant would have been Declan"s maiden final appearance. Nowadays Declan lives just outside Enniskillen in a townland called Coa with his family.
