Karen Van Nest has already been to 5 Paralympic Games! Out of North Bay, ON, she started in the sport of pistol shooting in 1998 and competed in the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Paralympics. Due to problems with her shoulder, she switched over to archery after the Beijing 2008 Paralympics. Just one year later, she made the national archery team.

Karen shoots using a compound bow and she earned 9^th place at the London 2012 Paralympics after just three years in the sport! This success only kickstarted her upward trajectory, which led to her winning a bronze and silver medal at the 2014 Pan Am Championships in Rosario, Argentina.

She earned second place and a silver medal at the 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto. At the Rio 2016 Paralympics, she earned two top ten finishes – 8^th place in the compound team event and 9^th place in the individual compound open event.

Currently, she sits at 21^st in the world rankings in the women’s compound open division. Her most recent competition was in Nove Mesto nad Metuji, Czech Republic where she reached the round of 16.

“I had a bunch of archers helping me prepare in the last 4 months, so I need to thank every one of them,” says Karen. “I feel ready and I’m super excited about competing in Tokyo.”

Click here to see the Paralympic archery schedule.