Grant Kenny
 |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Grant Hayden Kenny |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Born | 14 June 1963 Maryborough, Queensland, Australia |
| Sport | |
| Country | Australia |
| Sport | Canoe sprint, Ironman surf lifesaving |
Medal record | |
Grant Hayden Kenny OAM (born 14 June 1963) is an Australian former Ironman, surf lifesaver and canoeist.
Career
[edit]Kenny made headlines in 1980 when, as a 16-year-old, he won both the Australian Junior and Open Iron Man Championship on the same day. Kenny then won the Australian Open Ironman Title for the following three years. He also became a household name in Australia due to his sponsorship deals with Kelloggs Nutri-Grain, and appeared in television commercials for the cereal.
After turning his attention to kayaks in the mid-1980s, Kenny later became an important figure in creating the Uncle Toby's Super Series, which was a ground-breaking professional Iron Man circuit that lasted for 12 years. Kenny was also a competitor in the first two seasons, but by 1989 his other interests had taken away the necessary time to train for such a demanding sport and his results were never anything like his domination during his late teens.
In kayaks, Kenny competed in two Summer Olympics. He won a bronze medal in the K-2 1000 m event with Barry Kelly at Los Angeles in 1984.
Honours
[edit]Kenny is a recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia, which he received in 1986 for his service to sport.[1] He has also been awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000,[2] and the Centenary Medal in 2001,[3] both for his services to the sporting and business world. He was also inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1996.[4]
Personal life
[edit]Kenny was married to the Australian Commonwealth swimming champion Lisa Curry in 1986. They had three children, (Jaimi Lee, Morgan and Jett) , with their eldest child dying on 14 September 2020 at age 33, following a long illness,[5] Kenny and his former wife co-own the Curry Kenny Aviation Group, which in 2009 owned approximately 60 aircraft.
On 17 December 2012, it was reported that he and comedian Fifi Box were expecting a child. This was later confirmed, and on 5 April 2013 Beatrix 'Trixie' Belle Box was born.[6][7]
References
[edit]- ^ It's an Honour Archived 7 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine – Medal of the Order of Australia
- ^ It's an Honour Archived 7 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine – Australian Sports Medal
- ^ It's an Honour Archived 7 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine – Centenary Medal
- ^ "Grant Kenny". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ "Daughter of Lisa Curry and Grant Kenny dies aged 33". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ^ McCullough, James (29 May 2009). "Lisa Curry-Kenny, Grant Kenny separating after 23 years of marriage". The Courier-Mail. Archived from the original on 30 May 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
- ^ "Sporting couple Curry and Kenny split". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australian Associated Press. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
External links
[edit]- DatabaseOlympics.com profile
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Grant Kenny". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012.
- Living people
- 1963 births
- Sportspeople from the Sunshine Coast
- Australian male canoeists
- Canoeists at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- Canoeists at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- Olympic canoeists for Australia
- Olympic bronze medalists for Australia
- Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
- Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
- Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees
- Sportspeople from Maryborough, Queensland
- Sportsmen from Queensland
- Olympic medalists in canoeing
- Australian surf lifesavers
- Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- 20th-century Australian sportsmen
- Racing drivers from Queensland