Karen Anne Phillips known after marriage as Karen Anne Higgison, was an Australian butterfly and individual medley swimmer of the 1980s, who won the silver medal in the 200 m butterfly at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics

1984 Summer Olympics

The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

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Raised in Nowra, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Phillips was selected to represent Australia in the 200 m butterfly and 400 m individual medley, but was not expected to do well, barely scraping into the final of the 200 m butterfly, and narrowly missing the final of the 400 m individual medley. Although she was left far behind by the United States' Mary T. Meagher

Mary T. Meagher

Mary Terstegge Meagher Plant is an Olympic champion and former World Record holding swimmer from the United States...

, she swum a personal best of 2mins 10.56s to claim the silver medal, although Meagher was 7 metres ahead.

Two years later at the 1986 Commonwealth Games

1986 Commonwealth Games

The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland for the second time. The Games were held from 24 July-2 August 1986.-Organisation and Controversy:...

in Edinburgh, Phillips enjoyed more success, winning silver in the 200 m butterfly.