Background
Garrard was born on 21 January 1911 in Geelong, Victoria.
Garrard was born on 21 January 1911 in Geelong, Victoria.
In a thirty-year career, from 1926 to 1956, Garrard lost only nine of 525 bouts, making him Australia"s most successful sport wrestler ever. This included not being beaten in a match in Australia for 25 years between 1930 and 1956. He was forced to withdraw from the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne because of a dislocated shoulder and retired shortly after.
He became an international judge and referee as well as chairman of the Olympic Wrestling Technical Committee.
He was involved with the every Olympics until the 2000 Sydney Olympics (except for the 1980 Moscow Games which he boycotted) as either a judge, referee, section manager, mat chairman, a delegate to the Congrees or simply as a Very Important Person. He was manager of the Australian wrestling team at the 1972 Munich Olympics. He was and still is the only Australian wrestler to ever contest an Olympic final.
He was awarded an Australian Sports Medal in 2000, and shortly afterwards took part in the Sydney Olympic torch relay, where he lit the community cauldron in Geelong. Before his death on 3 March 2003 (aged 92), he was Australia"s oldest living Olympic athlete.
Garrard was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame on 10 December 1985, and is the only wrestling inductee.
Garrard was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (Administration Member of the Order of the British Empire) in 1970, and was made an Officer of the Order (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 1976.