Daniel started sailing at 5 years old, quickly developing a deep passion for the sport. Fifteen years on, he had hopes for Olympic selection but in 1997, an accident left him a quadriplegic. He never lost his passion for the sport and in 2004 he returned to sailing. 

Daniel first represented Australia at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics, taking silver in the two-person keelboat (SKUD18) TPA with teammate Rachael Cox. 

In 2010, he partnered with Liesl Tesch in a successful long-term sailing team. They went on to the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics competing in the two-person keelboat (SKUD18) TPA becoming the first paralympic team to win back-to-back gold medals. 

As well as Olympic success, Daniel has competed in international para-sailing events and won 13 gold, 3 silver and 7 bronze medals throughout his career. And in 2016 he received an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for his service to sport.