Darren Whiter

Darren became the Lead Coach for Lightweights in October 2009 and is currently coaching the LM2x for the 2010 Season.

In 2008 he coached Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter in the lightweight men's double scull to a gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games - GB's first ever lightweight Olympic medal.

Darren first realised his potential as a coach at the 1997 World Junior Championships in Hazewinkel where he coached the boys' double scull of Matthew Wells and James Di Luzio to a gold medal. Since then he has coached six boats to Championship Gold.

Soon after this he left his job as a Physical Training Instructor with the Metropolitan Police to become the full time professional coach at the University of London. Two years later Darren joined British Rowing's staff as High Performance Coach leading the Under 23 Programme.

During this time he coached Matthew Wells to World U23 Gold and in the same year, 2000, he took him to a creditable 9th place at the Olympic Games in Sydney.

Darren's speciality has been working with young single scullers. In 2002 he coached Matthew's younger brother Peter to World U23 Gold and in 2005 he took 19 year old Zac Purchase to the Lightweight U23 title. In the same year Zac won silver at the World Championships and in 2006 became World Lightweight Singles Champion in a World's best time – in front of his home crowd in Eton.

In 2007, Darren combined his work with the U23 pathway with coaching Zac Purchase and Mark Hunter to a bronze medal in the Olympic Class Lightweight Double at the World Championships in Munich.