Grant Kenny

Grant Kenny
Personal information
Full nameGrant Hayden Kenny
NationalityAustralian
Born (1963-06-14) 14 June 1963
Maryborough, Queensland, Australia
Sport
CountryAustralia
SportCanoe sprint, Ironman surf lifesaving
Medal record
Men's canoe sprint
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place1984 Los AngelesK-2 1000 m

Grant Hayden Kenny OAM (born 14 June 1963) is an Australian former Ironman, surf lifesaver and canoeist. He won a bronze medal in the K-2 1000m event at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Career

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

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

Kenny was married to the Australian Commonwealth swimming champion Lisa Curry in 1986. They had three children, (Jaimi, Morgan and Jett) Kenny and his former wife co-owned the Curry Kenny Aviation Group, which in 2009 owned approximately 60 aircraft. In May 2009, it was reported that Kenny and Curry had separated.[5]

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 a daughter was born.[6][5]

References

  1. ↑ It's an Honour Archived 7 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine – Medal of the Order of Australia
  2. ↑ It's an Honour Archived 7 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine – Australian Sports Medal
  3. ↑ It's an Honour Archived 7 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine – Centenary Medal
  4. ↑ "Grant Kenny". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Sporting couple Curry and Kenny split". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australian Associated Press. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  6. ↑ 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.
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