This one is personal; today, I get to interview one of my idols, Joh Griggs. Joh's bio is hard to keep short, so I will start with a few facts you might not know about Joh. In 2002, at the Salt Lake Winter Olympics, Jo became the first female in Australia to solo host the coverage of an Olympic Games. In 2006, she backed it up again and solo hosted the Olympics in Torino. Jo has hosted the Athens 04, Beijing 08, Rio 16, Tokyo 21 and the Beijing Olympic Games (with me, yay) in 2022. Along with the Australian Open of Tennis (for the last 17 years).
But we want to talk to Joh about sport; after all, Joh represented Australia at the Auckland Commonwealth Games in 1990—winning a bronze medal in the 100m backstroke! In 1993 (the same year DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's hit, Boom Boom Shake Shake the Room, destroyed Rap music forever...)... Griggs became the fastest human on the planet. The day following that swim (let me repeat this part,)after becoming the fastest human on earth in the 50M back, Joh announced her retirement from competitive swimming at 17 due to chronic fatigue syndrome. Forcing her out of the 1992 Olympic Games.
Joh has lived on our screens and in our homes for over 20 years. But that's not why Joh is one of my idols; Joh takes the time to listen, support and nurture; Joh breeds confidence in everyone around her, and it's infectious. If I could take anyone to Dinner for a night, it would be a tough fight between DJ Jazzy Jeff, The Fresh Prince, Zac Efron for his acting talents and Joh Griggs. I pick Joh!
Joh is a Director on the Board of Beyond Blue and, In 2020, was awarded an AM in the Australia Day honour list for service to community health, television, and the sport. Please enjoy my conversation with the wonderful Joh Griggs!
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/chumpypullinfoundation/message