David Gardiner hailed from a family of famous Scottish wrestlers, many of whom were professionals. Gardiner’s uncle George just missed out on a medal by finishing fourth in the lightweight division at the 1924 Paris Olympics. David won the 1925 Scottish middleweight title by beating Alex Cramb and in Olympic year, 1928, was champion again. Despite being selected for the Amsterdam Games, however, he was not allowed to compete after it was found he had won money at Highland Games, which Gardiner regularly attended.
Great Britain