Karen Kelsall

Dr. Karen Kelsall (born December 11, 1962) is a Canadian chiropractor and a retired gymnast and dancer. She was the youngest competitor at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and was one of the first Canadian gymnasts to attract attention from the international gymnastics community.

Karen Kelsall
Full name	Karen Kelsall
Country represented	Canada
Born	(1962-12-11) December 11, 1962 Nanaimo, British Columbia
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
College team	University of California, Berkeley
Former coach(es)	Dick Mulvihill; Linda Mulvihill
Medal record Commonwealth Games 1978 Edmonton Team 1978 Edmonton All-around (tie)

Career

Kelsall began gymnastics training at around the age of nine. Although born in Canada, she spent a significant portion of her gymnastics career training in the United States. Her mother, dissatisfied with her progress at a Vancouver gymnastics club, sent her to train under coach Dick Mulvihill in Oregon. Kelsall quickly advanced, eventually ranking in the top five by the Canadian Gymnastics Federation, despite previously not even being considered for the Olympic team. She trained under Dick and Linda Mulvihill, who were pioneering the use of video analysis and mechanical spotting equipment in gymnastics training at the time.

She was the junior Canadian national champion in 1976, the senior National Champion in 1977 and 1980, and the British Columbian champion in 1977. She represented Canada at various international competitions from 1975 through 1980, including the 1975 Pan Am Games, where she placed thirteenth in the all-around; the 1977 American Cup, where she was the all-around bronze medalist; the 1978 World Championships and the 1978 Commonwealth Games, where she was a member of the gold medal-winning Canadian team and tied for the bronze medal in the all-around.

In 1976, the thirteen-year-old Kelsall placed third at the Canadian Olympic Trials. FIG regulations at the time required gymnasts to be fourteen years old by the start of the Olympics. The Canadian Gymnastics Federation applied for, and received, a special exception for Kelsall to compete, because she would turn fourteen by the end of the year. She was the youngest competitor representing Canada. At the Olympics, Kelsall placed a modest 27th in the all-around, but was a key member of the ninth-place Canadian team.

Canada participated in the Olympic boycott of 1980, and as such, Kelsall did not have the opportunity to attend a second Olympic Games. She moved on to college, where she competed as an NCAA gymnast for the University of California, Berkeley for four years.

Kelsall originated an element on balance beam, the Kelsall Stretch. The skill is a flexibility move that is performed on the beam by standing on one foot while performing a split and grabbing the other leg from behind.

Later life

After her undergraduate work and a brief career as a professional dancer, Kelsall returned to university. She is currently a chiropractor in the Pacific Northwest, with additional certification in massage therapy and other modalities.

Kelsall was featured in the book "The Making of a Gymnast: The Karen Kelsall Story" (1978) authored by Jean Boulogne. [1]

External links

• Kelsall biography at Gymnastics Canada
• About Dr. Kelsall from her website