Karen (Clarke) Dumas
Marathon Canoeing (1986)

Karen was a highly skilled athlete in the sport of synchronized swimming. She competed for six seasons, then began coaching when the Saskatoon Aqualenes Swimming Club was newly formed. Many of her swimmers placed high in the provincial and western Canadian competitions.

When she retired from coaching, Karen joined her husband Denny in a new sport – canoeing. Her first taste of competition took place during the popular Louis Riel relays. Her next venture took her to the sport of Marathon canoeing. Karen encouraged a former synchro-swimmer, Cathy Nixon, to join her. In August 1981, Karen and Cathy combined to win the pairs event in the first Canadian Women’s Championship marathon canoeing held in Saskatoon.  The following year in Grandmere, Quebec, this duo again repeated as national champions. Karen’s superior strength and endurance was an inspiration to many.