Harry Garside is handling the inevitable questions with grace and honesty. Subscribe now for unlimited access . Login or signup to continue reading $ 0 / $ NaN /year All articles from our website & app The digital version of Today's Paper Breaking news alerts direct to your inbox Interactive Crosswords, Sudoku and Trivia All articles from the other regional websites in your area Continue How is he? What comes next? Everyone wants to know.
The 27-year-old boxer went to the Paris Olympics with hopes for a gold medal so intense that he could feel it in his chest. The last line in his newly-released book, The Good Fight , which left off as he was heading to Paris, radiated with Harry's typical positive energy: "Obviously, I want a gold medal, though. So let's go get it.
" Instead, he was bundled out in the first round. Beaten by Hungarian boxer Richard Kovacs. His 20-year dream of an Olympic gold medal was crushed in nine minutes in a boxing ring in the northeastern suburbs of Paris.
Harry Garside lost in the first round at the Paris Olympics to Richard Kovacs of Hungary. Picture AAP/Reuters There would be no standing on the podium draped in the Australian flag like his idols Cathy Freeman and Grant Hackett. Garside's raw, real emotions at the time - "I feel like a failure right now" - and his refusal to not give pat answers to the media made everyone - not just Karl Stefanovic's mum - want to give him a hug.
In an interview right after the shock bout, sweating and shellshocked, G.