Darren Gardiner

Darren Gardiner
Personal information
Nationality  Australia
Born 19 November 1969 (1969-11-19) (age 42)
Queensland
Weight 125 kg
Medal record
Powerflifting
Paralympic Games
Silver 2004 Athens Men's Over 100 kg
Silver 2008 Beijing Men's Over 100 kg

Darren Gardiner (born 19 November 1969) is a Paralympic powerlifting competitor from Australia. He has won two silver medals at the Summer Paralympic Games in the Men's Over 100 kg powerlifting event.

Personal

Gardiner was born on 19 November 1969[1] in Queensland.[2] In 1994,[3] he lost his left leg below the knee as a result of cancer.[1][3] When not competing, he lives in Maylands, Western Australia and works as a sales manager.[1] One of his heroes is Ray Epstein.[1] He moved from Queensland to Western Australia in 2005.[2] He weighs 125 kg.[3]

Powerlifting

Gardiner started powerlifting in 1995, and first represented Australia in 1998.[1] He competes in the Over 100 kg men division.[1] He trains in Perth, Western Australia.[2] Since 1997,[3] in the powerlifting community, he is known as "the bear" because of the loud roaring noise he makes in his pre-competition warmup.[2] As of October 2011, he is ranked second in the word.[4] As of May 2011, his personal best lift is 235 kg.[3]

He has competed in three Paralympics: The 2000 Summer Paralympics, the 2004 Summer Paralympics and the 2008 Summer Paralympics.[1] He won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Games in the Men's Over 100 kg event,[5] when he lifted 227.5 kg. He repeated his silver medal performance in the same event at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.[2]

In 2005, he competed at the Trafalgar event in Melbourne, Victoria, where he won a bronze medal in the EAD category for powerlifting. He earned his third place finish with a lift of 227.5kg.[6]

He has competed at several other events outside the Paralympics. In 2006, he finished second at the World Championships. That year, he took a bronze at the Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne. He won a silver medal in 2007 at the European Open.[1] In 2011, he earned a gold medal at the Arafura Games.[2] He did not compete for most of 2010 as a result of injury.[3] At the 2011 Oceania Paralympic Championships, he finished first with a score of 230, 70 more than second place competitor Abebe Fekadu.[7]

He was nominated for the weightlifting team that competed at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in the EAD events.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Darren Gardiner". Australian Paralympic Committee. http://www.paralympic.org.au/team/darren-gardiner. Retrieved 9 November 2011. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Road To London: Darren Gardiner". Perth, Western Australia: Wheelchair Sports Western Australia. 30 September 2011. http://www.wheelchairsportswa.org.au/news_2011_OCTA.htm. Retrieved 10 November 2011. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f Chadwick, Justin (18 May 2011). "Bear ready to roar at London Paralympics". Nine MSN. http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8250771. Retrieved 10 November 2011. 
  4. ^ Wheelchair Sport Western Australia (3 October 2011). "The Bear Eyes Fourth Paralympic Campaign". Western Australia Institute of Sport. http://www.wais.org.au/other/news_detail.php?ID=1425. Retrieved 10 November 2011. 
  5. ^ "Athlete Search Results". International Paralympic Committee. http://www.paralympic.org/Sport/Results/search.html?npc=AUS&gender=all&medal=medals&sport=all&games=2004PG. Retrieved 4 October 2011. 
  6. ^ "Elite athletes with drive, not disability - Weight Lifting - Commonwealth Games". Theage.com.au. 2006-03-24. http://www.theage.com.au/news/weight-lifting/elite-athletes-with-drive-not-disability/2006/03/24/1143083994311.html. Retrieved 2012-01-03. 
  7. ^ "2011 Oceania Paralympic Championships - Powerlifting". 2011 Oceania Paralympic Championships. http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=6-8475-0-0-0. Retrieved 10 November 2011. 
  8. ^ "Drug bans cost Australian weightlifting team - Sport". theage.com.au. 2006-02-08. http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/drug-bans-cost-australian-weightlifting-team/2006/02/07/1139074229963.html. Retrieved 2012-01-03.