McCAN N FAMILY HOW THE HEALED AFTER HE ARTBREAK

After enduring unimaginable pain, Maddie's siblings are thriving

- 

This month marks 18 years since three-year-old Madeleine McCann was snatched from a Portuguese holiday apartment while her two-year-old twin siblings, Amelie and Sean, slept next to her.

Since then, the children's parents, Gerry and Kate, have been unwavering in their determination to keep Maddie's disappearance in the public eye, while doing all they can to ensure the twins’ lives remain as normal as possible.

Last week, which would have been Madeleine's 22nd birthday, it was revealed how Sean and Amelie have thrived against the odds, and that they're becoming young adults with bright futures ahead of them.

Twenty-year-old Amelie and Sean are both at university, and a family friend reveals how they are “carving out their own lives”.

Sean, who's studying chemical engineering, is also a champion freestyle swimmer who has ambitions to represent Great Britain at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, training up to 20 hours a week.

He recently shared on a charity website, which had granted him a sports award, that he began swimming competitively at age eight.

“I have since gone on to win multiple county titles, as well as becoming regional and national champion in my age group,” wrote Sean.