Karen Elizabeth Preston (born July 8, 1971) is a Canadian former competitive

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 ...

. She is the

1992 Grand Prix International de Paris The 1992 Grand Prix International de Paris was held at the Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Results Men Ladies Pairs Ice da ...

silver medallist, a two-time

Skate Canada International The Skate Canada International is an international, senior-level invitation-only figure skating competition organized by Skate Canada. It is the second competition of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating season. The location changes yearly. Medal ...

bronze medallist, a two-time (1989, 1992)

Canadian national The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

champion, and the 1987

Blue Swords Blue Swords (german: Pokal der Blauen Schwerter) is an international figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union. It is usually held in Chemnitz, Saxony, Germany. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladi ...

Junior champion. She finished in the top ten at two

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

and the

1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 February 1992 , closing = 23 February 1992 , opened_by = President François Mitterrand , cauldron ...

Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...

Personal life

Preston was born on July 8, 1971 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. She attended

Erindale Secondary School Erindale Secondary School is a secondary School of the Peel District School Board serving the Erindale community of Western Mississauga, Ontario. Special programs Erindale offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) program and cooperative educa ...

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

. She has two children, Lindsay (born 2004) and Ryan (born 2007), and became a naturalized U.S. citizen during her time in the United States.

Career

Preston joined the

Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club The Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club is a private sport and social club located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The club offers a variety of sporting and social programs including aquatics, cricket, croquet, curling, figure skating, fitne ...

(TCSCC) when she was nine years old. She was awarded gold at the 1987

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. In the 1988–89 season, she won her first senior national title, ahead of

Charlene Wong Charlene Wong (born March 4, 1966) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater. She is the 1981 NHK Trophy bronze medalist and competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics. She currently works as a figure skating coach. Personal life Charlene Wong wa ...

, and went on to compete at the 1989 World Championships in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where she finished 11th. Preston finished just off the national podium, in fourth place, during the next two seasons but received the bronze medal at the

1990 Nations Cup The 1990 Bofrost Cup on Ice, Nations Cup was held in Gelsenkirchen on November 15–17. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of single skating, men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Results Men Ladies Pairs Ice d ...

Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies ...

, Germany. Preston began the 1991–92 season with a bronze medal at the 1991 Skate Canada International and went on to win her second national title, outscoring

Josée Chouinard Josée Chouinard (born August 21, 1969) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater. She is the 1996 Champions Series Final bronze medallist and a three-time Canadian national champion (1991, 1993–1994). She finished in the top ten at two W ...

for gold. Both were selected to represent Canada at the

. In France, Preston placed 12th in the short program, 8th in the free skate, and 8th overall, just ahead of Chouinard. Concluding her season, she finished 9th at the 1992 World Championships in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. The following season, she was awarded silver at the

, behind

Surya Bonaly Surya Varuna Claudine Bonaly (born 15 December 1973) is a French-born retired competitive figure skater. She is a three-time World silver medalist (1993–1995), a five-time European champion (1991–1995), the 1991 World Junior Champion, and a ...

of France. She took silver behind Chouinard at the Canadian Championships and placed 8th at the 1993 World Championships in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. In the 1993–94 season, Preston won bronze medals at the 1993 Skate Canada International and Canadian Championships. Ranked third behind Chouinard and

Susan Humphreys Susan Anne Humphreys (born October 30, 1975, in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater. She is the 1997 Canadian national champion and competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics. She now resides in Edmonton, Alberta ...

, she did not make Canada's team to the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

. During her competitive career, her coaches included

Ellen Burka Ellen Burka (née Danby; August 11, 1921 – September 12, 2016) was a Canadian-Dutch figure skater and coach. She became Member of the Order of Canada in 1978 and was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. Personal life Ellen ...

Osborne Colson Osborne Colson (March 31, 1916 – July 14, 2006) was a Canadian figure skater and coach. Colson was born in Toronto, Ontario on March 31, 1916. His father was one of the founders of the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club. He won the Ca ...

Wally Diestelmeyer Wallace William "Wally" Diestelmeyer (July 14, 1926 – December 23, 1999) was a Canadian figure skater. He competed in pair skating with Suzanne Morrow. The couple won the bronze medal at the 1948 Winter Olympics and the 1948 World Figu ...

, and Louis Stong. Preston coached in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...

, before joining the coaching staff at the TCSCC and Canadian Ice Academy in Toronto.

Competitive highlights

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, Karen Canadian female single skaters Figure skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Canada Figure skaters from Toronto 1971 births Living people Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games