Australian Taekwondo's CEO Heather Garriock has received one of Football's highest accolades - induction into Football Australia's Hall of Fame.
Garriock is one of the highest appearance holders for the Matildas, collecting 130 caps for Australia's women's national team. The former midfielder won an AFC Women's Asian Cup in 2010, the 2003 OFC Women's Championship and featured in three FIFA Women's World Cups (2003,2007, 2011), scoring in both 2003 and 2007.
A two-time Olympian (2000, 2004), Garriock has kept tight-lipped on her sporting prowess since switching sports, with many in the Australian Taekwondo community unaware of her achievements as an athlete, coach and business leader.
Chair of Australian Taekwondo Simon Lew was delighted to hear of Garriock's elevation and well-deserved recognition of her achievements on and off the field.
"Congratulations to Heather; entry into a Hall of Fame is a lifetime achievement. Her career with the Matildas, two Olympics, Captain for Australia, it caps off a stellar career in Football and acknowledges all the hard work that she's put into her career in sport,"
Garriock commenced with Australian Taekwondo in December 2020 and since then has focused on modernising, professionalising and commercialising Taekwondo and showcasing best-practice in club operations and governance standards.
"We've been very lucky to take Heather on as CEO, and see her combine her skills as an athlete, her leadership skills, and coaching skills. This is a huge achievement, and I'm very proud to have her as our CEO. We've achieved a very stable financial situation, and memberships have not only been stable but is looking at growing into the near future," said Lew.
"Heather has modernised Australian Taekwondo, brought on a new technology platform called Rev Sport, which is groundbreaking, and commercialised the company with new sponsorship deals. She is very disciplined, a high achiever, and certainly goes above and beyond with what she does."
"She was almost elected on to the World Taekwondo Council earlier this year and just missed out by two votes, I think. So I mean, her respect in the sporting community is huge. She has spoken with me a lot about her vision, and it resonates with me in terms of inspiring and connecting everyone under the same banner of Taekwondo."
Born and bred in Sydney, Garriock played top-tier club football across Australia, Europe, and America. She won six domestic trophies in Australia, Denmark, and Sweden and received the highest individual honour for a women's footballer in Australia by taking out the Julie Dolan Medal in 2003.
The Board and staff of Australian Taekwondo warmly congratulate Heather on this outstanding achievement.
