Ballet-dancing Melbourne plumber Harry Garside eyeing gold at Tokyo Olympics

Did you hear the one about the ballet dancing plumber who sets the standard in Australian boxing?

When Harry Garside bowed his head to accept a gold medal at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, his transformation from lanky stranger to legitimate boxing star was almost complete.

In the rush to find a label, the local press picked “Dirty” Harry, but Garside was just too kind to hold onto – he just wanted to go back to Mooroolbark in Melbourne’s northeastern suburbs and put his medal on the neck of Brian Levier, his seven year old Trainer.

Check back on the action from day two of the Tokyo Olympics on our blog

For outsiders, it was an unexpected triumph.

For Garside and Levier, it was just the first step in a grand plan that had been many years in the making.

In the round of the last 32 of the lightweight class (57-63 kg) in Tokyo on Sunday, Garside took his Olympic bow and followed 15 years of common efforts.

Stay up to date with the latest news on the Tokyo Olympics

The Tokyo Olympics have started. Stay up to date on the action of the games.

Continue reading

The final analysis was a unanimous 5-0 point loss to Papua New Guinea’s John Ume, although it was far from comfortable.

Fitter, lighter on his feet and much more organized, the Australian recovered from an early wobble and exhausted his hard hitting opponent.

Garside secured a date with a trickier opponent in Namibia’s Jonas Jonas – also a gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games.

Few Olympic-level fights are easy, but Garside is now one step closer to realizing his dream.

The skinny kid and the coach who believed in him

When he was 12, he made a bold statement to a local journalist: “I’m going to try to win a gold medal in the Olympics – that’s my goal.”

At the time, he weighed 43 kg and had just beaten Lester Ellis’ son Darcy in his third fight and fought furiously after losing in the second fight.

The losses were quite frequent at this point – in 10 of Garside’s first 18 fights he left the ring defeated.

Before anyone else, Levier saw something different, something special.

Fifty-five years separate the 24-year-old Garside and his mentor, but Garside calls him his best buddy and everyone thinks the other is unique.

They’ve been inseparable since Garside was a lanky nine-year-old shadowing Levier in the corner while the big boys fought.

Read more about the Tokyo Olympics:

Once the gloves were on, the child never missed a single training session.

Gradually Levier began to notice all the characteristics of a top fighter: dedication, determination, technique, a real love for sport and a huge heart.

“I’ve never seen a kid as committed as Harry,” Levier told Leader News in 2017.

“You have to keep him from training half the time.”

Many children dream of Olympic glory, few cling to a specific goal as resolutely as Garside.

At three national championships before his first triumph in 2018, he was not just a loser, but a high-flyer.

The opponents giggled at the warm-up laps he offered.

At 19, Garside failed the last hurdle and missed the selection for Rio 2016.

Harry Garside from Australia celebrates with fansGarside’s coach predicted a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, but no one listened. (

AAP: Dave Hunt

)

“Heartbreaking” was the only word he could find to describe it.

But he kept working and Levier kept believing.

Now, Garside looks after younger versions of himself and explains what happened when he hit it right: victories piled up, national titles followed.

Still, when Levier predicted a medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2018, no one listened.

Same name, same look … same talent?

Tim Tszyu in training at the Tszyu Boxing Academy in Rockdale, Sydney.

The son of the Australian legend Kostya Tszyu is quickly making a name for himself in martial arts. And legendary trainer Johnny Lewis says he has what it takes to be just like his father – a world champion.

Continue reading

Accordingly, Garside’s golden moment in Queensland now has a mythical quality.

One Townsville trainer, Johnny Lindgren, is known to use history to inspire his charges.

Last November, Garside took a step – and many stitches – further, sending 20 of Lindgren’s guys through sparring sessions.

Would success in Tokyo go to his head? You would think no.

“I’m just an ordinary guy,” Garside said shortly after the Commonwealth Games.

“I’m a plumber again, back to the shovel and back with the boys.”

Boxer isn’t afraid to stand out from their peers

If he goes all the way it will be a family chore.

Mother Kate watched her youngest son’s early fights with her hands crossed, unsure how the family’s self-styled “wimp” had transformed from a mummy boy who avoided contact sports to a pugilist who loved the brutality of boxing.

Young, brunette man holds gold medal in his teethWith gold at the Commonwealth Games, Garside could take Australia’s first Olympic gold medal in boxing home.

AAP: Dave Hunt

)

Two years ago, for practical reasons, she bought Harry some vouchers for the now infamous ballet classes.

Garside always wanted to try – his hero, two-time Olympic champion Vasyl Lomachenko, had used the dance floor to improve his footwork and balance.

At the same time, it revealed something deeper – Garside’s willingness to stand out from his macho colleagues.

In his mentoring work for the Reach Foundation, he focuses on addressing harmful gender stereotypes.

“I’ve always been a bit of an unusual person, I’ve always been a little bit different,” Garside said recently.

“I’m not going to lie – I’ve always wanted to try ballet. I say I do it for boxing, but actually I always wanted to dance. “

Like Garside’s early boxing moves, the ballet was a failure at first, but he stuck with it.

A few tries later, he said his footwork, coordination, and thinking had changed for the better.

After these games, the ballet dance plumber will be looking for a professional career, but it’s the weeks ahead that he’s really prepared for – his hard-earned chance to put Australia’s first Olympic boxing gold medal around Brian Levier’s neck.

You might also like

Comments are closed.