Karen Pickering
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Karen Denise Pickering, MBE (born 19 December 1971) is a former freestyle swimmer from
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
.


Swimming career

She made her international senior debut in 1986. She was first selected to represent her country at the European Junior Championships. Pickering competed in four consecutive
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...
, starting in
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
. She won her first medal in 1993, at the inaugural
1993 FINA Short Course World Championships The 1st Short Course Swimming World Championships were organized by FINA and held in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, December 2–5, 1993. The meet featured competition in a Short course (swimming), short course (25 meter) pool. During the championship ...
in
Palma de Mallorca Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...
, where she won the gold medal in the 200 m freestyle. With that performance Pickering became Britain's first
swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...
world champion. She was a member of the British swimming squad from 1986 to 2005 and has a collection that includes 8 World Championship medals (4 gold), 14 European Championship medals, 38 National Championship titles, and a Commonwealth Games medal haul of 13 including 4 gold. The
2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...
saw Karen win three medals, two gold and one silver, in front of her home crowd, a career highlight which was crowned with the honour of carrying the English flag at the closing ceremony. She is a two times winner of the British Championship in the 50 metres freestyle (1992 and 1993), seven times winner of the 100 metres freestyle (1989-1993, 1997, 2000), nine times winner of the 200 metres freestyle (1990, 1992–1995, 1997, 1999 and 2002–2003) and was the 400 metres freestyle champion in 1992, 2002 and 2003.


Honours

For her services to swimming Karen was awarded an MBE in the 1994 New Years Honours List. Pickering is the Sports Ambassador for
Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...
in
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
, and chaired the British Athletes Commission between 2004 and 2016.


See also

*
List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (women) This is the complete list of women's World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming from 1973 to 2024. Medalists Bold numbers in brackets denotes record number of victories in corresponding disciplines. 50 metre freestyle *Medals: 100 ...
*
List of Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (women) This is a list of women's Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming (sport), swimming from 1930 to 2022. Current program 50 metre freestyle 100 metre freestyle 200 metre freestyle 400 metre freestyle 800 metre freestyle 50 metre backs ...
*
World record progression 4 × 200 metres freestyle relay This article includes the world record progression for the 4×200 metres freestyle relay, and it shows the chronological history of world record times in that competitive swimming event. The 4×200 metres freestyle relay is a relay event in whi ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pickering, Karen 1971 births Living people English female freestyle swimmers Sportspeople from Brighton Sportspeople from Ipswich Olympic swimmers for Great Britain Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games gold medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games silver medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in swimming Swimmers at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2002 Commonwealth Games British female freestyle swimmers World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Members of the Order of the British Empire Medallists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1994 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games 21st-century English sportswomen 20th-century English sportswomen