| Rank | Event | Year | Location | Result |
| Olympic Games | ||||
| 1 | Lightweight Double Sculls | 2008 | Beijing, CHN | 6:10.99 |
| World Championships | ||||
| 1 | Lightweight Double Sculls | 2011 | Bled, SLO | 6:18.67 |
| 1 | Lightweight Double Sculls | 2010 | Hamilton, NZL | 7:13.47 |
| 1 | Lightweight Single Sculls | 2006 | Eton, GBR | 6:47.82 |
| 2 | Lightweight Single Sculls | 2005 | Gifu, JPN | 7:23.10 |
| 3 | Lightweight Double Sculls | 2007 | Munich, GER | 6:26.92 |
| World Cup | ||||
| 1 | Lightweight Double Sculls | 2012 | Belgrade, SRB | 6:19.71 |
| 1 | Lightweight Double Sculls | 2012 | Belgrade, SRB | 6:19.71 |
| 1 | Lightweight Double Sculls | 2010 | Munich, GER | 6:26.56 |
Hobbies
Cooking, swimming, sailing competitions, reading, watching DVDs. (concept2.co.uk, 03 Aug 2007; zacpurchase.com, 23 Aug 2011; guardian.co.uk, 26 Jan 2012)
Occupation
Athlete
Family
Fiancee Fliss
Language(s) spoken
English
Club name
Marlow Rowing Club, Marlow, GBR
Coach
Darren Whiter (GBR) (britishrowing.org, 01 Mar 2012)
Debut
2005 for Great Britain, World Cup (Eton) (rowingone.com, 01 Mar 2012)
Injuries
He missed the Lucerne leg of the 2011 World Cup because of post-viral fatigue, which also disrupted his preparation for the 2011 World Championships. (guardian.co.uk 12 Dec 2011; britishrowing.org, 01 Mar 2012)
He did not compete at international level for the whole of 2009 after illness in the early part of the year heavily disrupted his training. (zacpurchase.com, 01 Mar 2012)
Additional information
Start of sporting career
He started the sport when he was attending the King's School in Worcester, rowing out of the Upton Rowing Club in Upton-upon-Severn, England. (GB Rowing, concept2.co.uk, 03 Aug 2007; guardian.co.uk, 12 Dec 2011)
Ambitions
To win gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. (guardian.co.uk, 04 Jan 2012, 23 Feb 2012)
Most memorable sporting achievement
Winning gold at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. (guardian.co.uk, 23 Feb 2012)
Hero
Great Britain's multiple Olympic champion middle distance runner Kelly Holmes. (concept2.co.uk, 03 Aug 2007)
Sporting philosophy / motto
"If it wasn't worth the sacrifices, I wouldn't still be doing it. Day-to-day it can be hard, punishing, unrelenting, but you can't beat the emotion of being on the podium when the national anthem starts booming out of the public grandstand." (guardian.co.uk, 23 Feb 2012)
Awards
He was conferred as a Member of the British Empire [MBE] in the 2009 New Year's Honours list. (britishrowing.org, 01 Mar 2012)
His gold medal in the lightweight double sculls with Mark Hunter at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing was Great Britain's first Olympic medal in a lightweight class. (britishrowing.org, 01 Mar 2012)
General
NUPTIALS
He is due to marry his fiancee Fliss three weeks after the 2012 Olympic Games in London. (guardian.co.uk, 26 Jan 2012)
SAXOPHONIST
He achieved a grade eight advanced certificate for the saxophone when he was at school and says he would like to play in a blues or jazz band. (bbc.co.uk, 01 Aug 2008)
SENTIMENTAL LOSS
In August 2008, just weeks after his gold medal performance at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, his mum Sara's house in Plymouth was burgled. Among other things, thieves made off with a digital camcorder that contained footage of his Olympic victory. "I filmed the entire race and the medal ceremony," she said. "That footage has so much sentimental value to me. It isn't just a video of the win, it was what I saw through my eyes as they came away with gold." (telegraph.co.uk, 29 Aug 2008)
Previous Olympics
Beijing 2008
