Karen McPherson (born in 1951) is a Canadian retired Paralympic athlete. She won three medals in swimming events at the

1968 Summer Paralympics The 1968 Summer Paralympics ( he, המשחקים הפאראלימפיים בקיץ 1968) were the third Paralympic Games to be held. Organised under the guidance of the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF), they were known as th ...

, held in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

Early life

McPherson became

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...

in infancy, after surviving

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

. She used arm crutches, leg braces, and a wheelchair. She was a student at Vancouver's Little Flower Academy, and attended Vancouver City College.

Swimming career

McPherson competed in the first Pan American Wheelchair Games, held in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

in 1967, and won seven gold medals in swimming events. She won three medals in the 1968 Summer Paralympics, held in Tel Aviv. She was the youngest British Columbian on the Canadian national team. In 1969, she swam on a relay team with Gwen John, Hilda Binns, and Elaine Ell, and won seven medals at the Pan-American Wheelchair Games in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. In 1971 she competed in the Western Washington Wheelchair Games in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, setting a record in the backstroke event. In 1973, she broke two national records at the B.C. Wheelchair Games. She held seven national Canadian records in 1974, McPherson was nominated for Junior Athlete of the Year by the Vancouver Junior Chamber of Commerce in 1969. She was active in the British Columbia Wheelchair Sports Association in its early years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McPherson, Karen Living people 1950s births Medalists at the 1968 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in swimming Paralympic silver medalists for Canada Paralympic bronze medalists for Canada Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Paralympics Paralympic swimmers for Canada Canadian female backstroke swimmers Canadian female breaststroke swimmers 20th-century Canadian women 21st-century Canadian women