Karen Furneaux (born December 23, 1976) is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 sprint kayaker

Canoe racing

This article discusses canoe sprint and canoe marathon, competitive forms of canoeing and kayaking on more or less flat water. Both sports are governed by the International Canoe Federation ....

 who has been competing since 1988. A native of Halifax

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, she won nine medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships. This includes two golds (K-1 200 m: 2001

2001 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 2001 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Poznań, Poland at Lake Malta. The Polish city had hosted the event previously in 1990....

, K-2 200 m: 1998

1998 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 1998 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Szeged, Hungary.The men's competition consisted of nine Canadian and nine kayak events. Women competed in eight events, all in kayak....

), three silvers (K-1 500 m: 2005, K-2 500 m: 1999

1999 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 1999 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Milan, Italy at the Idroscalo.The men's competition consisted of nine Canadian and nine kayak events. Women competed in eight events, all kayak....

, K-4 200 m: 1997

1997 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 1997 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada on Lake Banook.The men's competition consisted of nine Canadian and nine kayak events. Eight events were held for the women, all in kayak...

), and four bronzes (K-1 200 m: 2005, 2006; K-1 1000 m: 2005, K-1 4 x 200 m: 2009

2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships

The 2009 International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint World Championships were held 12–16 August 2009 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Lake Banook. The Canadian city was selected to host the championships in October 2003 after having done so previously in 1997...

).

Furneaux also competed in three Summer Olympics, earning her best finish of fifth in the K-2 500 m

Canoeing at the 2000 Summer Olympics - Women's K-2 500 metres

The Women's K-2 500 metres event was a pairs kayaking event conducted as part of the Canoeing at the 2000 Summer Olympics program.-Medalists:-Heats:13 crews entered in two heats...

 event at Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 in 2000

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

.