Biography

Jennifer Ann McKenna

Jenny was born in Hornsby, NSW on the 29th of October 1972, to parents Judith and John. She grew up in the Sydney suburb of Wahroonga as the youngest of four siblings; oldest and only brother Sean, and older sisters Jane, Kate and Kieran. Here she attended Prouille Primary School until her family relocated to Forster on the North Coast of NSW in 1983.

At the age of twelve, Jenny developed a keen interest in the sport of triathlon, when she volunteered at the inaugural Forster Ironman in 1985.The infectious atmosphere surrounding the event inspired Jenny to purchase her first road bike and begin cycling the streets of Forster whenever she could.

The Forster environment was a perfect setting for Jenny to develop her skills and the love of the sport of triathlon. She joined the local surf life saving club and triathlon group, and along with sister Kieran, was a very familiar sight to locals cycling and running the streets and swimming the waterways of Forster / Tuncurry. Through her high school years, Jenny continued to volunteer at subsequent Forster Ironman events, always with the goal of one day competing herself.

Jenny attended Forster High School until Year 11, when her family returned to Sydney. She completed her secondary schooling at Loreto College, Normanhurst and then went on to complete a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing through the University of Western Sydney.

All through her secondary and tertiary education, she continued to be involved in endurance sports, competing in small triathlons, half marathons and surf life saving events. She would also return to Forster each year to either volunteer or avidly watch the Ironman.

After graduating from UWS in 1994, Jenny began a successful career in marketing. Her competitive spirit was also evident in her professional life, where she won several sales awards including an overseas trip, in her position as sales representative for various pharmaceutical companies, including Sanofi-Aventis, where she is currently employed.

However, the roads and waterways continued to beckon and Jenny’s goal of one day returning to her ‘home town’ of Forster to be a competitor in the Ironman was finally achieved, when she qualified for the 1998 Ironman event.

As a member of the Sydney based ‘BRAT’ (Bondi Running and Triathlon) Club, she returned ‘home’ to compete with friends, and in front of her family in the event that she had so long been in awe of.

She not only completed the event in a competitive time and a top 10 place in her age group, but also succeeded in qualifying for the World Championships in Hawaii later that year, even after being hospitalized for severe dehydration after the race.

Jenny had finally achieved her goal and in doing so achieved more than she had bargained for in qualifying for Hawaii. With Forster behind her she was now forced to re-evaluate her goals, and set new ones for herself.

The decision to compete in Hawaii was not an easy one for Jenny to make. She had just endured a very grueling training schedule for Forster and was unsure as to whether her body could cope with another endurance event in the same year. However, her determination to compete in the “mecca” of triathlons, was an opportunity too good to refuse. So Jenny decided to compete in the 1998 World Ironman Championships in Hawaii, and came seventh in the world in a very competitive age group.

She had now achieved above and beyond what she had originally set out to do, but that is Jenny; always striving for more!

Jenny continued to regularly compete in triathlon and running events , invariably winning her age group and placing in the top ten female classification overall. She completed the Forster Ironman on two other occasions, qualifying for a second World Championships in 2005 which she eventually chose to decline. She became a well-known and respected member of the triathlon community, particularly for always putting 110% effort into everything she attempted and for having outstanding work ethics.

However, Jenny’s proudest and most successful sporting moment occurred in the European Ironman in Roth, Germany in 2000, where, as an Australian representative, she won her age group in a time of 10:16 and was the first Australian female to cross the finish line.

Following the Roth Ironman, Jenny fulfilled another lifetime goal, by embarking on an exciting four month solo adventure, back-packing around Europe and the UK. She was hesitant at first, to travel on her own, but yet again, that determination to fulfill her dreams, was too hard to resist.

Even though Jenny has many outstanding sporting and professional achievements, her greatest achievement, regarded by many, is as a loving friend, sister, daughter, and aunt. Her infectious, charismatic and inspirational personality have endeared her to many and her extremely large and varied circle of friends is a major testament to this. There are many of us who will be more than 110% behind Jenny, now, as she faces the biggest challenge of her young life.