David Collins won a bronze medal in the lightweight four at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Internationally he also won a gold medal in the lightweight eight at the 1995 Pan American Games, and a bronze medal in the lightweight eight at the 1991 World Championships. Collins competed at the Worlds in 1991-95. He was a seven-time US Champion.
Collins rowed in college at Rutgers University, and then obtained a masters’ in education from Old Dominion. He became a high school mathematics teacher and crew coach, coaching at both Rutgers and Georgetown colleges, and in high school. Collins also worked for a time for the North Carolina Department of Education evaluating and authoring future state assessments.