Joni Briganti
Episode 369
2 MAR 2026
She has earned USA Triathlon’s Lifetime Achievement Award, among other honors. She went from being a USA racer/triathlete into an International World triathlete. In 2017 she qualified for Age Group Team USA Triathlon, and this will be her 11th year racing the World Triathlon Championships. She has raced in Denmark, Slovakia, Germany, Spain, and Australia, and in 2026 will be back in Spain as well as the United Arab Emirates. She is also a USA Triathlon Certified Level 2 Coach. Plus, she teaches 13 fitness classes weekly. As she discusses here, she has been swimming competitively since she was a little girl.
Notable guest quotes:
“I grew up in a very Catholic home, attended Mass all the time, every holiday, all the weekdays, and my mother’s sister – my aunt Dolores – was a sister of St. Joseph. And then we had a really good friend, Father Damien … who I was very close with.”
“I went to Catholic kindergarten, St. Josephat, and then I went to Resurrection of Our Lord elementary school all the way through eighth grade, and then Nazareth Academy High School, all in Philadelphia.”
“I won the 25-meter freestyle at four years old in the age group six-and-under.”
“I swam in the junior Olympics when I was nine. I swam in the individual medley in Washington, DC – took second place.”
“We moved to Japan three days after we got married in 1977… (I) was very involved in the Catholic Church over there too. Father Don, I still remember his name.”
“I coached children’s swim league for three years where we lived in Japan… it was through the Amateur Athletic Union.”
“It was kind of interesting because if it was a Protestant service then they would have just have a cross and then they would bring out a crucifix for the Catholic service in the same area.”
“We moved to Hawaii and I was really into swimming. I did a lot of open water swimming. We participated in the Waikiki Roughwater Swim series and the North Shore Swim series. And I was still running.”
“One of the things that I really love about my love of Jesus Christ in sports is that it had developed inside of me this ministry to encourage others that they could do it too. So, that’s kind of where I want to be to encourage and inspire and ignite others that they can do it too, not just me.”
“Not that I don’t like to win. We all like to win… But to see others, especially people who I work with, achieve their goals, that’s what’s really most important to me.”
“I would … pray the rosary the whole time I was swimming. I pray the rosary on the bike. I pray the rosary when I’m running. I pray the rosary now on a daily basis.”
“I feel like everybody can be empowered by our Savior to do their best… if you saw what my ‘26 season has in store for me, it’s jam packed. And this because of Jesus Christ, it’s because of the grace of God.”
“I feel like I put on the armor of God. And that’s just how I compete. And then when I finish, it’s like, ‘Thank you, Jesus’.”
“There is nothing that means more to me than glorifying the name of Jesus through sport.”