Karen Lynne Moras (born 6 January 1954), also known by her married name Karen Stephenson, is an Australian distance freestyle swimmer of the 1960s and 1970s who won a bronze medal in the 400-metre freestyle at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

. Although she set multiple world records she peaked between Olympics and was unable to capture gold at Olympic level.Karen Moras
Sports-Reference.com Trained by Forbes Carlile, and making her international debut as a 14-year-old prodigy, Moras was expected to win medals at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. She struggled, however, to adapt to the rarefied air at high altitude conditions and required medical treatment for breathing difficulties and

hyperventilation Hyperventilation is irregular breathing that occurs when the rate or tidal volume of breathing eliminates more carbon dioxide than the body can produce. This leads to hypocapnia, a reduced concentration of carbon dioxide dissolved in the blo ...

. Despite this Moras managed to salvage a bronze medal in the 400-metre freestyle, behind the American duo of

Debbie Meyer Deborah Elizabeth Meyer (born August 14, 1952), also known by her married name Deborah Meyer Weber, is an American former competition swimmer, a 1968 three-time Olympic champion, and a former world record-holder in five freestyle events, 200,400 ...

and Linda Gustavson. She nearly claimed a second bronze in the 800-metre freestyle, being beaten into fourth by 0.1 of a second by Mexico's Maria Teresa Ramírez who was much more acclimated to the local conditions. In 1970 Moras broke the 800-metre freestyle world record at the Australian Championships, qualifying for the

1970 Commonwealth Games The 1970 British Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 16 to 25 July 1970. This was the first time the name British Commonwealth Games was adopted, the first time metric units rather than imperial units were used in all eve ...

in Edinburgh. She was the dominant swimmer at the Games, winning the 200-, 400- and 800-metre freestyle events, cutting 7 seconds off her 800-metre freestyle world record in the process. Her winning time in the 400-metre freestyle was less than a second outside Meyer's world record. On Moras' return to Australia a new swimmer,

Shane Gould Shane Elizabeth Gould (born 23 November 1956) is an Australian former competition swimmer. She won three gold medals, a silver medal and a bronze, at the 1972 Summer Olympics, becoming the first woman swimmer to win five individual medals. In 2 ...

, had joined Carlile's group and by the end of the year Gould had defeated Moras in state-level carnivals. In 1971, after Gould claimed every freestyle world record from 100-metre to 1500-metre, Moras left Carlile's group to train under

Don Talbot Donald Malcolm Talbot (23 August 19333 November 2020) was an Australian Olympic swimming coach and sport administrator. He coached national teams for Canada, the United States and Australia. Early life Talbot was born on 23 August 1933 as t ...

, feeling that Carlile was spending too much time focusing on Gould. Moras qualified to represent Australia at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

in Munich in the 400- and 800-metre freestyle and the 400-metre individual medley, but failed to reach the final in any of the events. She retired from competitive swimming after the Olympics. Her sister, Narelle Moras, also competed at the Munich Games, finishing eighth in the 800-metre freestyle. She currently works at Presbyterian Ladies' College in Croydon as part of the swimming coaching and staff at their Aquatic Centre, as Aquatic Director. She was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

in 1985.

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Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moras, Karen 1954 births Living people Sportswomen from New South Wales Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Australian female freestyle swimmers Swimmers at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists in swimming World record setters in swimming Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Swimmers from Sydney Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Medallists at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games 20th-century Australian sportswomen

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