Joanne May Giles [1] (29 November 1950 – 22 February 2011) was a New Zealand television presenter and former representative sportswoman. She represented the country in pistol shooting at the 1997 Oceanian Championships in Adelaide, and the 2000 World Cup in Sydney. [2] She was the first New Zealand woman to ride in a totaliser race (thoroughbred racing) in New Zealand, on 15 July 1978 at Waimate, and also competed in motorsport and Rock 'n Roll competitions. [3] [4]
Jo Giles was a candidate for ACT New Zealand in the 2005 general election. [5] She formed a local body political party "Christchurch City Vision" and was a mayoral candidate in the 2007 Christchurch local body election. [6] With 14,454 votes, Giles came third after Bob Parker (47,033 votes) and Megan Woods (32,821 votes) in the election contested by ten candidates. [7]
Jo Giles was later a TV presenter for the regional broadcaster Canterbury Television (CTV), with her programme "Shopping with Jo". [8]
On 11 March 2011 police confirmed that she was one of the victims of the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake in the CTV Building. [1] She had four children. [3]