Karen Magnussen

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox figure skater Karen Diane Magnussen, OC (born April 4, 1952) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater. She is the 1972 Olympic silver medallist and 1973 World champion.<ref name=BCHallOfFame/><ref name=sr/> She was Canada's Female Athlete of the Year in 1971 and 1972, and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1973.<ref name=orcan/><ref name=sr/>

Personal life

Karen Magnussen was born on April 4, 1952 in Vancouver, British Columbia.<ref name ="CAN Sports HoF"> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She grew up in a middle-class family with a Swedish mother and Norwegian father.<ref name=SJ731003/><ref name=BCHallOfFame/> She has two sisters, Lori, three years younger, and Judy, six years younger.<ref name=SJ731003/>

Magnussen studied kinesiology at Simon Fraser University.<ref name=SJ731003/> In 1978, she married Tony Cella, the lead singer of a band.<ref name=CP780321/> They lived in his hometown, Boston, for eleven years and then moved to Vancouver.<ref name=TP140127/><ref name=TGAM090601/> They have two sons and a daughter.<ref name=SL1001/>

Competitive career

After being introduced to the ice at age six and a half when her mother, a recreational skater, brought her to a general skating session, Karen Magnussen then kept asking for more opportunities to skate.<ref name=SJ731003/> Recalling lessons on pebbly curling ice at the Kerrisdale Arena, she commented, "The ice was anything but perfect, but I think that made you tough."<ref name=TP140127/> Her first coach was Hellmut May.<ref name=SC100714/> Linda Brauckmann became her coach in 1965.<ref name=SJ731003/><ref name=VS100115/>

Magnussen's career at the elite level of skating began when she won the Canadian national junior title in 1965. Moving up to the senior level the next year, she became known for her strong free skating ability, and was even compared to then-reigning world champion Petra Burka.<ref name=today/> Her march upwards in the rankings continued as she qualified to compete at the World Championships for the first time in 1967 and won her first Canadian title in 1968. She was sent to the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, and placed seventh.

In 1969, Magnussen lost her Canadian title to Linda Carbonetto. She was diagnosed with stress fractures in both legs in February 1969, spent three months in a wheelchair, and returned to the ice in mid-May.<ref name=SJ731003/> Magnussen was granted free early morning ice time at Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum before the hockey players arrived.<ref name=TP140127/> Though she watched the 1969 World Championships from a wheelchair, she said, "I was planning for next year's competition. I never considered giving up; I always knew that I'd be back."<ref name=today/><ref name=fstiq/> She won the Canadian Championships four more times, from 1970 to 1973. At the World Championships, she won a bronze medal in 1971 and then silver in 1972.

Like her American contemporary Janet Lynn, Magnussen was stronger in free skating than compulsory figures. In the early 1970s, both were competing against the Austrian skater Trixi Schuba, who excelled at figures and often built a huge early lead under a scoring system which heavily valued those skills. Schuba's strength in figures allowed her to win the gold at the 1972 Winter Olympics despite placing seventh in the free skating segment, while Lynn and Magnussen (first and second in the free skating) took bronze and silver, respectively. Since most audiences found compulsory figures unexciting, the International Skating Union reduced their value and introduced the short program in the 1972–73 season. Combined with Schuba's retirement after the Olympic season, this development encouraged both Magnussen and Lynn to stay in competition another year.

At the 1973 World Figure Skating Championships, the first under the new judging system, Magnussen produced a strong short program that included a double Axel.<ref name = "World Champion"> Template:Cite news</ref> Meanwhile, Lynn fell twice in that portion of the competition.<ref name = "Janet Lynn Faulters"> Template:Cite news</ref> Although Lynn came back to win the free skating segment, her problems in the short cost her the title.<ref name = "Queen of Skaters"> Template:Cite news</ref> The CTV Television Network, the Canadian broadcaster covering the championships, was concerned that Magnussen's free skate would be completed before the network went live at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, because the event was running several minutes early.<ref name ="satellite TV delay"> Template:Cite news</ref> The championship’s official’s refused CTV’s request to delay the competition until 3:30 p.m. So, the Canadians convinced the Zamboni driver to take an unusually long 17-minute shift to resurface the ice.<ref name ="satellite TV delay"/> In the final year in which solid gold medals were awarded in figure skating, Magnussen added a gold to complete her World medal collection.<ref name=SL1001/>

Later life

Magnussen retired from competition and turned professional, saying in October 1973, "I'm glad my folks don't have to worry now about paying my bills. They gave up so much for my lessons, and they never said one thing about it, for which I love them so much. I can help them out now, and help my two younger sisters."<ref name=SJ731003/> She performed with Ice Capades for four years.<ref name=TGAM090601/>

Magnussen coached for eleven years in Boston before returning to the North Shore Winter Club in North Vancouver, British Columbia.<ref name=TGAM090601/><ref name=Whitehorse/> In addition to teaching figure skaters, she has also worked with hockey players to improve edges, power, balance, and stops and starts.<ref name=TP140127/><ref name=TGAM090601/>

Despite the elimination of figures by the ISU, Magnussen considers it beneficial to learn them in some form, saying in 2009, "Instead of doing figures on a patch of ice we do it in a more free form, but we still have to get skaters back to basics."<ref name=TGAM090601/> The Karen Magnussen Community Recreation Centre<ref name=KMCRC/> in North Vancouver is named after her. To assist young skaters, Magnussen established the Karen Magnussen Foundation.<ref name=KMF/><ref name=IN150226/> Magnussen was the last Canadian woman to win the World title until Kaetlyn Osmond in 2018, 45 years later.<ref name=Whitehorse/><ref name=CBC180323/>

On November 28, 2011, an ammonia leak occurred at the North Shore Winter Club where Magnussen was working; she said it caused her breathing problems, hampered her ability to speak, impaired her vision, and left her chronically fatigued.<ref name=NSN120113/><ref name=VS120504/> Following the incident and treatment with the powerful steroid prednisone, she gained 60 pounds and developed rheumatoid arthritis, temporal arteritis (swelling of blood vessels to the head), and central sensitivity syndrome (affecting the interaction between the brain and vocal cords).<ref name=TP140127/><ref name=CBC131212/> WorkSafeBC inspectors cited the club for twelve health and safety violations.<ref name=hasvio/> Interviewed by the CBC in December 2013, Magnussen said compensation benefits ceased when WorkSafeBC realized her disability was permanent.<ref name=CBC131212/> As of 2015, she continues to suffer serious health problems and may not enter a rink due to the risk from fumes.<ref name=SC150220/> The Connaught Skating Club decided to organize a benefit show for Magnussen in March 2015.<ref name=IN150226/>

Results

Event	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973
Winter Olympics				7th				2nd
World Championships			12th	7th		4th	3rd	2nd	1st
North American Champ.			4th		2nd		1st
Canadian Champ.	1st J.	4th	2nd	1st	2nd	1st	1st	1st	1st