Michelle Denise Darvill (born 21 August 1965) is a retired
rower. Born in
Toronto, she first competed for Canada, but later change allegiance to Germany. She was world champion in three different lightweight boat classes, once for Canada and twice for Germany, and represented Germany at the
1996 Summer Olympics. Since 2009, she has been coaching the Canadian under 23 women's team.
Early life
Darvill was born in 1965 in
Toronto,
Ontario, Canada,[1] and grew up in
Mississauga.[2] In her youth, she was a competitive swimmer. She took up rowing when she was at university as a social activity.[2]
As a holder of dual citizenship, Darvill competed for Germany from 1995.[2] At the
1995 World Rowing Championships, she won bronze in the lightweight women's double sculls, partnering with
Ruth Kaps.[7] Kaps and Darvill competed at the
1996 Summer Olympics in the
same event and came eighth.[1] Partnering with
Angelika Brand, they became lightweight women's double sculls world champions in
1997.[8] At the
2000 World Rowing Championships, she competed in the lightweight women's quadruple sculls and became world champion.[9] She retired from competitive rowing after the 2000 season.[2]
Post-competitive rowing career
Since 2009, she has been the lead coach for Canada's under 23 women's team.[2]