Karen PERCY

Karen Percy began competing professionally in alpine skiing at the age of 12 and joined the Canadian National Alpine Skiing Team in 1984. Refusing to specialize, she competed in all alpine skiing events and by the age of 15 was the runner up in the Canadian Juvenile Championships. At the 1988 Winter Olympics, she won two out of Canada’s five medals, a pair of bronze medals in the Women’s Downhill and Women’s Super G events, accomplishing this after having surgery on a broken thumb four weeks prior. She placed second at the 1989 World Championships, but retired soon after.

Percy was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1988 and received an Olympic Champion Award at The Tribute to the Champions in 1989. In 2005, she was elected to the Banff Sports Hall of Fame. She is married to former hockey player and manager of the Edmonton Oilers Kevin Lowe and, since her retirement, has been heavily involved in charity work with organizations such as particularly Waterkeeper Alliance, Compassion House, the Zebra Foundation and Go Centre.