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Rolling in dough PAGE 12

Skating champ comes MAGNUSSEN CELEBRATES ARENA’S ANNIVERSARY

KAREN MAGNUSSEN jokingly calls herself an ‘‘oldie but

goodie’

but to thousands of Canadians she

is still

remembered as a world champion.

In honor of her past achieve- ments, Karen came home last weekend to celebrate the [0th an- niversary of the Karen Magnussen Arena in North Vancouver, and she joined the special 20th an- niversary celebration of the B.C. Athlete of the Year Award, which she won in 1972 and 1973.

KAREN MAGNUSSEN came home last week with her family to help celebrate the 10th anniversary of the North Vancouver ice arena named in her honor. The former skating champion now lives in Rending, Massachusetts with her husband and sons, She is expecting another child in July,

By DIANE BENTLEY Contributing Writer

recalling a telephone conversation she had with a Boston ice rink manager who visited Vancouver, laughed at how amazed he was that she had an

Kareit,

arena — a street, too — named after her.

“In the States they have their own sports stars and they aren't concerned too much about achievements of athletes from other countries,’’ Magnussen said.

NAME KNOWN

“Sure, my name is mentioned in passing,’’ she added, ‘‘but up here i's a complete turnaround. He couldn't believe it.’*

In Reading, Mass., where she lives with husband, Tony Cella, and their sons and with another child due in July, Karen Magnussen says she doesn’t pro- mote herself as a former world figure skating champion and silver medalist.

Certainly it doesn’t seem 14 years since Magnussen won silver medals in women’s skating at the 1972 World Olympics and world championships.

In 1973 she won the world championship and later became an Ice Capades star.

Karen, now 33 and still bubbly as ever, wearing a short, perky hairstyle, looks very much the ex- pectant mother, whose life centres around home.

But Karen has only temporarily hung up her skates from teaching and coaching.

Before she realized she was pregnant, Magnussen was training with the expectation that Expo might put on a skating show.

CAN’T WAIT

But the call never came, she got pregnant, and besides that Magnussen said, ‘‘You can't be waiting for a skating gig all your life.”

“My parents into

put that

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perspective for me, that there was life outside of skating, and that's what has kept me balanced."*

Teaching and coaching, Magnussen says, has given her a whole new appreciation of the sport,

She has been involved in the Special Olympics learn-to-skate program for more than 7 years now.

She says: ‘To work with these kids and see how hard it is for them to do a forward cross-over, and the elation they get out of be- ing able to go forwards and backwards is just phenomenal.”’

Magnussen has got many of her students involved with the program

helping disabled skaters, because she says, ‘‘Many don't appreciate their own capabilities as they should. They take too much for granted."’

Magnussen says many of the Pressures put upon her as a coach are from parents who seem obsess- ed with results.

“(Coaching) is a whole other side of the fence from my com- petitive days, and it’s challenging. As a technician, I’m always learn- ing something new,’’ said Magnussen.

While at home, Magnussen in- tends to teach a few classes at the North Shore Winter Club with Linda Brauckmann, her former coach and godmother to her children.

FAMILY FIRST

Those were exciting times for Karen Magnussen, but she’s just as happy they are in the past. Today, her family is her priority.

Asked if she’d have any reserva- tions if any of her children decided to seriously pursue a competitive sport, Magnussen said candidly: **Gee, I hope they won't. There is so much work that has to go into it. I mean, the whole family gave things up so that I could skate.”’

But if one did, she would advise him to go all the way because “*halfway won't do.”

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