| Karen Van Nest | |
| Nationality: | Canadian |
| Birth Date: | September 29, 1962[1] |
| Birth Place: | North Bay, Ontario, Canada[2] |
| Sport: |
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| Event: | Compound |
| Coach: | Phil Henderson |
Karen Van Nest (born September 29, 1962) is a Canadian Paralympic archer and shooter. She is a Parapan American Games medalist and has competed in six Paralympic Games.
Van Nest is originally from North Bay, Ontario.[3] At age 23, she lost her left leg in a motorcycle accident.
Van Nest began shooting in 1996.[4] She qualified for Canada’s Paralympic team in 1998, placing fourth at the 2000 Paralympics. She finished fifth at the 2004 Paralympics and tenth at the 2008 Paralympics.[5] In 2006, she won a bronze medal at the world championships in rowing.
Van Nest began para archery in 2008, at the age of 46.[6] She switched from shooting to archery after she experienced problems with her right shoulder,[7] and made her Paralympic archery debut at the 2012 Summer Paralympics. At the 2014 Pan Am Championships she won bronze in the women's compound open and silver in mixed team.[8] She won silver at the 2015 Parapan American Games in women’s compound open, losing by eight points to Jane Karla Gögel of Brazil.[9] At the 2016 Summer Paralympics, Van Nest came fourth in the women's compound open.[10] Van Nest won gold in the women’s compound open at the 2017 Para Pan American Championships[11] and bronze in the same event at the Championships the following year.[12] She competed in archery at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.[13]