Nick Garratt was more than a rowing coach. He was a mentor, a friend and even a kangaroos rescuer.
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The Australian rowing community was in mourning on Tuesday following the death of ACT Academy of Sport head coach Garratt.
The four-time Olympic coach died on Monday aged 71 while he was doing what he loved - helping the Australian under-23 team prepare for the world championships.
Tributes flowed from former athletes, friends and colleagues who were a part of his journey since coaching his first Australian crew in 1995.
Garratt was a respected leader and was widely credited for rejuvenating the Canberra rowing program, including a breakthrough interstate gold medal for the first time in 20 years.
But it was his ability to connect with athletes on a personal level that stood above all.
"Everyone in rowing around the country is really sad at his passing," said Rowing ACT executive officer Stuart John.
"An amazing thing with Nick ... he cared about people as people. He never rested on his laurels. If you spoke to him you never heard about the things he'd done.
"He genuinely cared about people and the big thing that's come out of the tributes in the last 24 hours is that he wanted you to be a good rower, but a good person as well."
Garratt has been a coach at the Western Australia and NSW institutes of sport before shifting his focus to revitalising the ACT program.
His Canberra arrival was good news for the capital's kangaroos. He saved a struggling kangaroos from drowning in Lake Burley Griffin earlier this year after seeing it struggling to escape the water and apparently it wasn't the only time he came to an animals rescue.
But kangaroo safety aside, Garratt was known for his brilliant success on the water and an ability to get the best out of athletes in the boat.
Australian Olympic Committee chair John Coates said: "This is a shock and the saddest of days for us all.
"Nick has given so much to rowing at every level and to the Olympic movement in Australia over many decades.
"Here he was, at 71, preparing the Australian under-23 team for a world championship. That says so much about his passion for the sport and his willingness to help young people."
Rowing Australia president Rob Scott said he was saddened and shocked by Garratt's sudden death.
"He was a passionate rowing coach who worked tirelessly to develop and support Australian rowers from grassroots to Olympic level," Mr Scott said.
"He was a greatly loved and admired member of our rowing family and we are all feeling this profound loss.
"Our thoughts are with Nick's family, his athletes and colleagues, both current and past, at this difficult time."
In a career spanning many decades, Garratt coached rowing crews at four successive Olympic Games, from Sydney in 2000 to the London Games in 2012.
At his first Olympics, he coached the men's quadruple scull to fourth place.
Through his role as head coach of the Mosman Rowing Club for more than a decade, he led five athletes to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.
In 2016, Garratt was awarded an AM in the Australia Day Honours, and in 2018 he was awarded the Pathway Coach of the Year.