Despite waiting two-and-a-half years waiting for a suitable partner to compete with, the Northallerton rower powered to victory alongside Rowles, clocking a time of three minutes 52.16 seconds, and beating off both China and France who took silver and bronze respectively.
The 26-year-old only partnered with Rowles in 2015, but the pair went on to win the World Championships in the same year.
Whiteley initially competed in para-swimming, following his recovery from Osteosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer.
In 2011, Whiteley joined Tees Rowing Club in Stockton, enjoying a wealth of success under coach Greg Beswick including gold medals at both the British and European Rowing Championships in 2012.
In 2014, Whiteley joined the national squad in Berkshire with the Rio Paralympic Games in mind.
The medal is Great Britain’s 17th gold medal of Rio 2016.
ParalympicsGB dominated the Lagoa regatta, winning a total of four rowing medals in just one hour. Great Britain is currently in second place on the medals table behind China with 40 medals.