In 1975, Beattie along with Ian McNuff, Robin Roberts and Martin Cross was a crew member of the Ealing High Schools coxless fours boat coached by their History Teacher David Tanner (later Sir David Tanner CBE) which won the silver medal at the World Junior Rowing Championships for Great Britain in Montreal behind East Germany and in front of West Germany.

[1] In 1978, along with McNuff, David Townsend and Martin Cross he was a member of the British coxless four boat (coached by Tanner) which won the bronze medal in the 1978 World Rowing Championships at Karipiro, New Zealand behind Russia and East Germany.

The following year in 1979 he was a member of the British coxless four boat (again with Beattie, Townsend and Cross and coached by Tanner) which won the bronze medal in the 1979 World Rowing Championships at Bled, Yugoslavia behind East Germany and Czechoslovakia.

In the 1980 Moscow Olympics Ian McNuff, David Townsend and Martin Cross he was a crew member of the British boat which won the bronze medal in the Olympic coxless fours event behind East Germany and Russia.

Four years later he and his partner Richard Stanhope finished twelfth in the 1984 coxless pairs competition.