Darren Gardiner (born 19 November 1969) is an Australian Paralympic powerlifter.

He has won two Paralympic silver medals in the Men's Over 100 kg powerlifting event.

[3] Gardiner was given this nickname because of his unusual pre-lift behaviour which sees him roar like a bear.

[1] He has had the nickname "the bear" since 1997 because of the loud roaring noise he makes during competition.

[5][6] In 2005, he competed at the Trafalgar event in Melbourne, where he won a bronze medal in the EAD category for powerlifting with a lift of 227.5 kilograms (502 lb).

[2] At the 2011 Oceania Paralympic Championships, part of the Arafura Games, he finished first with a score of 230, 70 more than second place competitor Abebe Fekadu.