Grant Hayden Kenny OAM (born 14 June 1963) is an Australian former Ironman, surf lifesaver and canoeist.

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 The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toaste ...

Nutri-Grain Nutri-Grain is a brand of breakfast cereal and breakfast bar made by the Kellogg Company. In Australia and New Zealand Nutri-Grain is a breakfast cereal made from corn, oats, and wheat. The pieces are shaped like bricks. In the United States, C ...

, 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 The Uncle Toby's Super Series was a professional Australian Ironman (surf lifesaving), Iron Man circuit that ran from 1989 to 2001. It was considered by many to be the pinnacle of Surf Lifesaving and inspired many young kids to become involved ...

, 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 Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

Honours

Kenny is a recipient of the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

, which he received in 1986 for his service to sport. He has also been awarded the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

in 2000, and the Centenary Medal in 2001, both for his services to the sporting and business world. He was also inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

in 1996.

Personal life

Kenny was married to the Australian Commonwealth swimming champion Lisa Curry in 1986. They have three children, Jaimi Lee, Morgan and Jett. Curry and Kenny separated in May 2009. Daughter Jaimi Lee Kenny died on 14 September 2020 at age 33, following a long illness, 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 was the unknown father of an unborn baby with Australian radio announcer and comedian

Fifi Box Fiona Box is an Australian radio broadcaster, television presenter and actress. Career Box's early career was spent in regional Australia working at stations 2MC/ROXFM Port Macquarie, 3TR Traralgon and 3GG Warragul. In 2000, Box co-hosted a la ...

. Fifi Box later confirmed that Kenny was the father. On 5 April 2013 Fifi Box gave birth to a baby girl named Beatrix 'Trixie' Beater Box.

References

External links

DatabaseOlympics.com profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenny, Grant 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 of Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Australian racing drivers Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Centenary Medal Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees People from Maryborough, Queensland Sportsmen from Queensland Olympic medalists in canoeing Australian surf lifesavers Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics