David Tanner CBE

David has been British Rowing's International Manager and Performance Director since 1996. He is also the Team Manager for the GB Rowing Senior Team.

David gained his first taste of international competition with the 'Ealing Four' of the 1970s, whom he coached from novices to a silver medal at the World Rowing Junior Championships in 1975. He continued to coach them as seniors, winning successive World Championship bronze medals in 1978 and 1979 and an Olympic bronze in Moscow in 1980. He also coached the GB coxed four to a 4th place at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

By this time David had become the headmaster of a large community comprehensive school in West London. This new job made it difficult to coach internationally and in 1991 he was appointed GB Rowing Senior Team Manager, a role he combined with his headship at the Olympic Games in Barcelona (1992) and Atlanta (1996).  After the Atlanta Games he left his career in eucation and as rowing's Performance Director he has led the GB Rowing Team at three more Olympic Games - Sydney (2000), Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008).  During this period GB has improved its performance across the board culminating in being the top nation at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing.

David was appointed an OBE for services to rowing in the Queen's Birthday honours in 2003 and, in the New Year's Honours List of 2009, was made a CBE.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

In 2003 he was FISA's 'Coach in the Spotlight' at the International Coaches' Conference in Athens.  He is a Historian and enjoys theatre, music and good food and wine in his spare time.