Giaan Rooney
Encyclopedia
Giaan Leigh Rooney OAM
(born 15 November 1982) is a retired Australia
n swimmer. She won an Olympic gold medal and broke a world record at the Athens Olympics
(Women's 4 x 100 metre Medley Relay
). Rooney is currently working as a presenter on Australian television.
, Queensland
, Rooney attended Miami State Primary School and All Saints Anglican School
on the Gold Coast.
and Daniel Kowalski
. In 2002 Rooney moved to Melbourne, coached by Ian Pope
at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre. Training partners included Matt Welsh
, Michael Klim
(who was also her boyfriend for two years) and Brett Hawke
.
Rooney made her international swimming debut for Australia at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
, 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 x 100 m medley relay team at the 1998 Games.
At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney Rooney won two silver medals as a part of the 4 x 200 m freestyle relay (with Kirsten Thomson
, Susie O'Neill and Petria Thomas
) and 4 x 100 m medley relay (swum in morning preliminary session).
In 2001 Rooney claimed the world champion title in the 200 m freestyle, winning at the 2001 Fukuoka World Swimming Championships
in Japan
. This event 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 x 200 m freestyle relay: the team of Elka Graham
, Petria Thomas
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 her second 2002 Commonwealth Games
in Manchester, England, winning silver in the 4 x 200 m freestyle relay (with Elka Graham
, Rebecca Creedy and Petria Thomas
) and bronze in the 100 m backstroke.
In 2004 Rooney won a gold medal in world record time at the Athens Olympics
in the Women's 4 x 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 Grant Hackett
from the 2006 Commonwealth Games
due to injury, Rooney was appointed as the captain of the national swimming team. She won a silver medal behind teammate Sophie Edington
in the 100 m backstroke, and qualified fastest for the 50 m backstroke. However, she was upset by Edington by 0.01s, 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.
competition and holiday season weather presenter on Channel Nine
's Today
program, filling in for Steven Jacobs
.. Rooney also appeared as a presenter on the Nine Network's television health series What's Good For You
(2007) and Getaway
(2007-8). She also attended Bond University
as a sporting scholar. In 2010, Rooney was appointed as host of the Victorian edition of 'Postcards', a local travel series broadcast on the Nine Network
replacing Suzie Wilks
. In 2011, Channel Nine
appointed Rooney as occasional host of their Sunday sport's programme Nine's Wide World of Sports.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 15 November 1982) is a retired Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n swimmer. She won an Olympic gold medal and broke a world record at the Athens Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
(Women's 4 x 100 metre Medley Relay
Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's 4 x 100 metre medley relay
The women's 4×100 metre medley relay was a swimming event held as part of the Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on August 20, 2004 and on August 21, 2004.77 swimmers from 16 nations competed.-Medalists:...
). Rooney is currently working as a presenter on Australian television.
Early life
Born in BrisbaneBrisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Rooney attended Miami State Primary School and All Saints Anglican School
All Saints Anglican School
All Saints Anglican School is a private, co-educational school established in 1987 under the Aegis of the Anglican Archdiocese of Brisbane. The school is located on a 40-hectare campus on the Gold Coast Hinterland at Merrimac, near the Robina Central Business District...
on the Gold Coast.
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 HackettGrant Hackett
Grant Hackett OAM is an Australian former 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 to be regarded as one of the greatest distance swimmers in history...
and Daniel Kowalski
Daniel Kowalski
Daniel Steven Kowalski is a former Australian middle- and long-distance swimmer specialising in freestyle events. He competed in the Olympic Games in 200 m, 400 m and 1,500 m individual freestyle events and in the 4x200 m freestyle relay...
. In 2002 Rooney moved to Melbourne, coached by Ian Pope
Ian Pope
Ian Pope is an Olympic and national swimming coach from Australia. As of 2010, he is the head coach of Melbourne Vicentre Swimming Club in Melbourne...
at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre. Training partners included Matt Welsh
Matt Welsh
Matthew "Matt" Welsh is an Australian swimmer who is the former world champion in the backstroke and butterfly. Welsh trained under coach Ian Pope at the Melbourne Vicentre Club. He took two golds in 50 metres butterfly and 50 metres backstroke, during one hour, at the World Championships in...
, Michael Klim
Michael Klim
Michael Klim OAM is a Polish-born Australian swimmer. He was born in Gdynia. He was educated at the University High School, Melbourne and Wesley College, Melbourne where he is currently employed as the College's elite Head Coach of swimming...
(who was also her boyfriend for two years) and Brett Hawke
Brett Hawke
Brett Hawke is a retired sprint swimmer who competed for Australia at the 2000 Summer Olympics and 2004 Summer Olympics. He is now the head coach of Auburn University's swimming and diving program....
.
Rooney made her international swimming debut for Australia at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
1998 Commonwealth Games
The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century. A record 70 nations supplied 3638 athletes...
, 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 x 100 m medley relay team at the 1998 Games.
At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney Rooney won two silver medals as a part of the 4 x 200 m freestyle relay (with Kirsten Thomson
Kirsten Thomson
Kirsten Thomson is an Australian middle distance freestyle swimmer, who won a silver medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympics....
, Susie O'Neill and Petria Thomas
Petria Thomas
Petria Ann Thomas OAM 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....
) and 4 x 100 m medley relay (swum in morning preliminary session).
In 2001 Rooney claimed the world champion title in the 200 m freestyle, winning at the 2001 Fukuoka World Swimming Championships
Fukuoka, Fukuoka
is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. This event 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 x 200 m freestyle relay: the team of Elka Graham
Elka Graham
Elka Whalan is a retired Australian swimmer who competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2004 Athens Olympics. Graham specialised in the 200m and 400m freestyle events, also swimming the 800m freestyle...
, Petria Thomas
Petria Thomas
Petria Ann Thomas OAM 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....
and Linda Mackenzie
Linda Mackenzie
Linda June Mackenzie OAM is an Australian freestyle swimmer. She tends to prefer the longer 200m/400m/800m events and has won the Australian 400m national title five years in a row...
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 her second 2002 Commonwealth Games
2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
in Manchester, England, winning silver in the 4 x 200 m freestyle relay (with Elka Graham
Elka Graham
Elka Whalan is a retired Australian swimmer who competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2004 Athens Olympics. Graham specialised in the 200m and 400m freestyle events, also swimming the 800m freestyle...
, Rebecca Creedy and Petria Thomas
Petria Thomas
Petria Ann Thomas OAM 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....
) and bronze in the 100 m backstroke.
In 2004 Rooney won a gold medal in world record time at the Athens Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
in the Women's 4 x 100 metre Medley Relay
Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Women's 4 x 100 metre medley relay
The women's 4×100 metre medley relay was a swimming event held as part of the Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on August 20, 2004 and on August 21, 2004.77 swimmers from 16 nations competed.-Medalists:...
. 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
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
.
After the withdrawal of Grant Hackett
Grant Hackett
Grant Hackett OAM is an Australian former 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 to be regarded as one of the greatest distance swimmers in history...
from the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
due to injury, Rooney was appointed as the captain of the national swimming team. She won a silver medal behind teammate Sophie Edington
Sophie Edington
Sophia Jane Edington is an Australian backstroke and freestyle swimmer.She trained at the Kingscliff ASC club under Greg Salter. After Greg took up an overseas coaching role Sophie moved to Queensland to train under the QAS program from the end of 2008...
in the 100 m backstroke, and qualified fastest for the 50 m backstroke. However, she was upset by Edington by 0.01s, 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.
Post swimming career
Rooney has performed on television with appearances on Torvill and Dean's Dancing on IceTorvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice
Torvill and Dean's Dancing on Ice is 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 celebrities ice dancing on a specially constructed ice rink located in...
competition and holiday season weather presenter on Channel Nine
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
's Today
Today (Australian TV program)
Today and Weekend Today are Australian breakfast television programmes, the show is often referred to as The Today Show. The show has been broadcast live by the Nine Network each morning since 1982...
program, filling in for Steven Jacobs
Steven Jacobs
Steven Jacobs is an Australian television presenter and actor.Jacobs is currently weather presenter on the Nine Network's breakfast program Today.-Career:...
.. Rooney also appeared as a presenter on the Nine Network's television health series What's Good For You
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...
(2007) and Getaway
Getaway
Getaway is Australia's longest-running and most popular holiday and travel television programme. Debuting on 14 May 1992, it is currently broadcast on the Nine Network and TLC...
(2007-8). She also attended Bond University
Bond University
Bond University is a private university located in Robina, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is also the first private university established in Australia...
as a sporting scholar. In 2010, Rooney was appointed as host of the Victorian edition of 'Postcards', a local travel series broadcast on the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
replacing Suzie Wilks
Suzie Wilks
Suzie Wilks is an Australian TV lifestyle presenter and host of six prime time television shows since 1997.- Professional life :...
. In 2011, Channel Nine
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
appointed Rooney as occasional host of their Sunday sport's programme Nine's Wide World of Sports.
See also
- Commonwealth Games records in swimmingCommonwealth Games records in swimmingBelow is a complete list of the Commonwealth Games records in swimming, ratified by the Commonwealth Games Federation . Competition is held in long course pools.-Men's events:-Women's events:...