- Today, the hosts shared an emotional group hug with Harry Garside
- Garside’s aspirations for Olympic glory were dashed on Monday
- After his loss, Garside expressed feelings of having let down his country
Aussie boxer Harry Garside shared a heartfelt group hug with Today hosts Karl Stefanovic and Sara Abo following his emotional reaction to an unforeseen loss at the Paris Olympics.
At 27, Garside couldn’t mask his heartbreak as his 20-year dream was shattered in a mere nine minutes on Monday night.
He was defeated by Hungary’s Richard Kovacs in their round of 16 bout by unanimous decision, a surprising result considering the Victorian secured bronze in Tokyo and was aiming for gold this time.
The well-liked boxer had to cut his media commitments short after leaving viewers worried about his mental state during an intensely raw television appearance, where he admitted to feeling like he had let his nation down.
‘I feel like a failure,’ Garside expressed in an interview right after the match.
‘It’s an unpredictable sport; after three years, just like that… I feel very numb. I never anticipated this happening.’
Earlier, Garside, who has been transparent about his mental health struggles, expressed concern about the upcoming months as he processes his loss.
‘Right now, I feel pretty numb, but I believe the next month or two will be quite tough,’ he remarked.
Harry Garside shared his heartbreak in a raw interview after his Olympics dream was dashed
Garside, Karl Stefanovic and Sara Abo shared a 10-second hug to lift his spirits after the shocking defeat
During his Today show appearance on Tuesday, Garside appeared much more upbeat, expressing his desire to teach young individuals that ‘failure is simply a part of life,’ emphasizing our choice in how we respond to it.
He reflected on having low self-esteem at the start of his boxing career, but noted significant changes since then.
‘Self-worth and self-respect come from how you treat others,’ he explained.
‘It’s those small daily actions, like assisting someone with their groceries or offering a handshake, that build self-worth.’
He continued by stating that discovering our identity is a lifelong journey and that he is still exploring his own path.
At the conclusion of the interview, Stefanovic mentioned that his mother suggested he give Garside a big hug; then, he and Abo stood up, embracing Garside for approximately 10 seconds as music played.
The Australian athlete was eliminated from the men’s boxing competition in the round of 16
Garside plans to remain in Paris to cheer on the rest of the 12-member Australian boxing team before deciding on his future steps.
Following Garside’s bout, Aussie heavyweight Teremoana Teremoana made history as the first Australian to win a super heavyweight match in the Olympics.
He achieved a stunning first-round knockout against Ukrainian Dmytro Lovchynskyi in their 92kg+ fight at the North Paris Arena.
Teremoana will now face reigning Olympic champion Bakhodir Jalolov from Uzbekistan in the quarter-finals.
‘We’re here to win, and I’m just thankful to have gotten that out of the way in the first round,’ Teremoana noted.
‘I didn’t aim for a knockout. I trust in my strength, but my plan was simply to box. I landed some clean punches, and he felt it.’
