Giaan Leigh Rooney, OAM (born 15 November 1982) is an Australian former competitive

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

and television personality. As a member of the Australian team in women's 4×100-metre medley relay, she won an Olympic gold medal and broke a world record at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. Rooney is currently an Australian television presenter.

Personal life

Rooney was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and moved to the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

at age 8 where she attended Miami State Primary School and

All Saints Anglican School All Saints Anglican School ("ASAS" or "All Saints") is a private, co-educational school established in 1987 under the Aegis of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane. The school is located on a 40-hectare campus in the Gold Coast Hinterland. All Sain ...

. Giaan is married to Sam Levett. On 17 March 2014, Rooney gave birth to her first child, a boy, and on 14 June 2017 a girl.

Swimming career

Rooney's career began at age 11 at the Miami club in Queensland, where she was coached by Denis Cotterell. Training partners there included

Grant Hackett Grant George Hackett OAM (born 9 May 1980) is an Australian swimmer, most famous for winning the men's 1500 metres freestyle race at both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. This achievement has led him t ...

and

Daniel Kowalski Daniel Steven Kowalski (born 2 July 1975) is an Australian former middle- and long-distance swimmer specialising in freestyle events. He competed in the Olympic Games in 200-, 400- and 1,500-metre individual freestyle events and in the 4 × ...

. In 2002 Rooney moved to Melbourne, coached by

Ian Pope Ian Pope (born 1962) is an Olympic Swimming Coach for Australia where he served on the 2000 and 2008 Olympic Teams. He was also selected as a coach for the Australian Swimming Team at 6 World Championships teams 2001 2003 2004 2005 2010 2012. He w ...

at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre. Training partners included

Matt Welsh Matthew James Welsh (born 18 November 1976) is an Australian swimmer who is the former world champion in the backstroke and butterfly. He took two golds in 50-meter butterfly and 50-meter backstroke, during one hour, at the World Championship ...

Michael Klim Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

(who was also her boyfriend for two years) and

Brett Hawke Brett Geoffrey Hawke (born 2 June 1975) is a former competitive swimmer who represented Australia at the 2000 Summer Olympics and 2004 Summer Olympics. He was the head coach of the Auburn Tigers swimming and diving team of Auburn University ...

. Rooney made her international swimming debut for Australia at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

, where she won a gold medal in the 100 m backstroke as a 15-year-old. Rooney was also part of Australia's gold medal-winning 4×100-metre medley relay team at the 1998 Games. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney Rooney won two silver medals as a part of the 4×200-metre freestyle relay (with

Kirsten Thomson Kirsten Thomson (born 27 September 1983) is an Australian middle-distance freestyle swimmer who won a silver medal in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Coming from Sydney, New South Wales, Thomson was still attendin ...

Susie O'Neill Susan O'Neill, (born 2 August 1973) is an Australian former competitive swimmer from Brisbane, Queensland, nicknamed "Madame Butterfly". She achieved eight Olympic Games medals during her swimming career. Early life Susan (Susie) O'Neill was ...

and

Petria Thomas Petria Ann Thomas, (born 25 August 1975) is an Australian swimmer and Olympic gold medallist and a winner of 15 national titles. She was born in Lismore, New South Wales, and grew up in the nearby town of Mullumbimby. Career In 1993, at the a ...

) and 4×100-metre medley relay (swam in morning preliminary session). Giaan Rooney - 2011 Australian Grand Prix

In 2001 Rooney claimed the world champion title in the 200 m freestyle, winning at the 2001 Fukuoka World Swimming Championships in Japan. This meet was also widely remembered for the disqualification of the Australian women's team after they jumped in the water to celebrate apparent victory in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay: the team of

Elka Graham Elka Graham (born 20 October 1981), now known by her married name Elka Whalan, is an Australian former competition swimmer who swam in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2004 Athens Olympics. Graham specialised in the 200-metre and 400-metre freesty ...

and Linda Mackenzie joined anchor swimmer Rooney in the water to celebrate their win, but as it was before all other competitors had finished the event, they were disqualified. Furthermore, the team found out about their disqualification while they were giving a post race interview for television. Rooney competed in the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

in Manchester, England, winning silver in the 4×200-metre freestyle relay (with

, Rebecca Creedy and

) and bronze in the 100-metre backstroke. In 2004 Rooney won a gold medal in world record time at the

in the women's 4×100-metre Medley Relay. Rooney swam a personal best and new Australian record time of 1:01.18 to help Australia to the gold – the maiden victory by Australia in this event in Olympic history. After the withdrawal of

from the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

due to injury, Rooney was appointed as the captain of the national swimming team. She won a silver medal behind teammate

Sophie Edington Sophie Jane Edington (born 12 December 1984) is an Australian backstroke and freestyle swimmer. Biography Edington trained at the Kingscliff ASC club under Greg Salter. After Salter took up an overseas coaching role Edington moved to Queensl ...

in the 100-metre backstroke, and qualified fastest for the 50-metre backstroke. However, she was upset by Edington by 0.01 of a second, again winning a silver medal. There is, however, conjecture about that official result with video suggesting Rooney touched first but did not activate the timing pad immediately. Rooney retired from competitive swimming after this meet.

Television career

Rooney has performed on television with appearances on

Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice ''Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice'' was an Australian reality television series which was based on the original British version, '' Dancing on Ice''. The series premiered on the Nine Network on Tuesday, 11 July 2006 at , and involved celebri ...

competition and holiday season weather presenter on Nine Network's ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'', filling in for Steven Jacobs, despite having no experience or qualification in meteorology. Giaan also appeared as a presenter on the Nine Network's television health series ''

What's Good For You ''What's Good For You'' is a Logie Award-winning Australian health and lifestyle television program that airs on the Nine Network. It investigates myths and fables concerning health and well-being. Examples of myths investigated include "Does c ...

'' (2007), '' Getaway'' (2007–08) and ''Battlefronts'' (2009). She also attended

Bond University Bond University is Australia's first private not-for-profit university and is located in Robina, a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland. Since its founding on 15 May 1989, Bond University has primarily been a teaching-focused higher ed ...

as a sporting scholar. In 2010, Rooney was appointed as host of the Victorian edition of

Postcards A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...

''', a local travel series broadcast on the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

replacing Suzie Wilks, and in 2011, Nine Network appointed her as occasional host of their Sunday sports program ''

Nine's Wide World of Sports ''Nine's Wide World of Sports'' is a long running sports anthology brand on Australian television that airs on the Nine Network and streaming service Stan. All major sports, events and series covered by the network are broadcast under this br ...

''. In December 2012, Rooney joined the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

as a fill-in weather presenter on ''

Seven News Melbourne ''7NEWS'' is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia. National bulletins are presented from Seven's high definition studios in Martin Place, Sydney, while flagship 6pm bulletins are p ...

'' while David Brown was on holidays, and in February 2013, she was appointed regular weather presenter on ''

'' replacing Brown who became network meteorologist. In January 2014, Rooney went on maternity leave, and was replaced by

Jo Silvagni Joanne Louise Silvagni (née Bailey; 10 March 1970) is an Australian model and television personality and television hostess/compere. Career Silvagni was born on 10 March 1970 to Barrie and Fran Bailey and was educated at Tintern Grammar, in t ...

. She returned from maternity leave in June 2014 to present weather on weekends. In February 2015, Rooney resigned as weekend weather presenter on ''

'', and in October 2015 she became sports anchor for ''

Seven News Brisbane ''7NEWS'' is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia. National bulletins are presented from Seven's high-definition television, high definition studios in Martin Place, Sydney, while f ...

''. No longer in this role, she remains part of the

's news and sport division. In April 2018 Rooney was part of the Seven Network's

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

commentary team. As the

in late 2019, she replaced

Sonia Kruger Sonia Melissa Kruger (born 28 August 1965) is an Australian television presenter and media personality, who has been a prominent figure in the media for over 20 years. Kruger is currently the host of '' Big Brother Australia'' and a presenter o ...

, Steven Jacobs, Lauren Phillips and

Denis Walter Denis Walter OAM, (born 3 January 1955) is an Australian radio presenter, baritone singer, recording artist and media personality who also presented television news for 16 years. Career Walter's music career has lasted over forty years and he ...

to present the show Helloworld with returning hosts

Bec Hewitt Rebecca June Hewitt ( Cartwright; born 23 July 1983) is an Australian actress and singer. From 1998 to 2005, Hewitt played Hayley Smith Lawson on the soap opera ''Home and Away''. As Bec Cartwright, Hewitt released an eponymous pop music albu ...

Vince Sorrenti Vince Sorrenti (born 21 March 1961) is an Australian stand-up comedian, writer and television presenter from Punchbowl, New South Wales. He is of Italian descent. Sorrenti performs nationally and internationally. He performs at sports hospitalit ...

, Ray Martin, Matt Wilson and Ashley Hart and former broadcast on the

References

External links

* * * * *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rooney, Giaan 1982 births Living people Sportswomen from Queensland Australian female backstroke swimmers Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Olympic swimmers of Australia Olympic gold medalists for Australia Olympic silver medalists for Australia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Swimmers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Bond University alumni Australian television personalities Women television personalities World record setters in swimming Australian female freestyle swimmers World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers from Brisbane Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists in swimming Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming

Personal life

Swimming career

Television career

See also

References

External links