Karen Wingyan Kwan Oppegard (born 1 June 1978) is an American retired
figure skater
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
and choreographer. She is the older sister of
Michelle Kwan.
Early life and skating career
Karen Kwan was born in Torrance, California.
The Kwan sisters began figure skating at the same time and trained and competed against each other for years. Karen, like Michelle, was coached by
Frank Carroll at the
Lake Arrowhead training center. Though Karen's results never quite matched Michelle's, she was known for her long legs and arms that added a lyrical style and an elegant dimension to her skating. She also had consistent triple
jumps
Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jumping can be distinguished from running, galloping and o ...
and good technical
spins
The spins (as in having "the spins")Diane Marie Leiva. ''The Florida State University College of Education''Women's Voices on College Drinking: The First-Year College Experience"/ref> is an adverse reaction of intoxication that causes a state of v ...
. Karen also represented the United States at numerous international skating events, and won the bronze medal at the 1996
Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany. At tall, Karen stands about taller than Michelle. She retired in 1997 to focus on school. She attended
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
.
Post skating career
Since ending her competitive skating career, Kwan has maintained her connection to the sport. She has worked as a choreographer and is the skating director at the East West Skating Palace,
East West Ice Palace
/ref> in Artesia, California. The Kwan family owns and operates the rink.
Kwan graduated from Boston University in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in communications. She interned with clothing designer Vera Wang (a relative), who is noted for designing figure skating costumes and personally designed Michelle's costumes.
Personal life
Kwan was married to three-time U.S. pair skating
Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating a ...
champion and 1988 Olympic bronze medallist Peter Oppegard. They have two daughters.
As of 2021, they are estranged. Divorced in 2022.
Results
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwan, Karen
American female single skaters
Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California
1978 births
Living people
American sportspeople of Chinese descent
American sportswomen of Chinese descent
Boston University College of Communication alumni
People from Artesia, California
Sportspeople from Torrance, California
21st-century American women