fullname birth_place discipline birth_date formercoach article_title name collegeteam
karen kelsall nanaimo , british columbia wag 11 december 1962 dick mulvihill ; linda mulvihill karen kelsall
 karen kelsall university of california , berkeley
karen kelsall

dr. karen kelsall -lrb- born december 11 , 1962 in nanaimo , british columbia -rrb- is a chiropractor and a retired canadian gymnast and dancer .
she was the youngest competitor at the 1976 summer olympics in montreal , and was one of the first canadian gymnasts to attract attention from the international gymnastics community .
although she was born in canada , kelsall spent a fair amount of her gymnastics career training in the united states .
she trained in oregon under coaches dick and linda mulvihill , who at the time were perfecting a form of gymnastics training that incorporated video recordings and mechanical spotting equipment .
she was the junior canadian national champion in 1976 , the senior national champion in 1977 and 1980 , and the british columbian champion in 1977 .
she represented canada at various international competitions from 1975 through 1980 , including the 1975 pan am games , where she placed thirteenth in the all-around ; the 1977 american cup , where she was the all-around bronze medalist ; the 1978 world championships and the 1978 commonwealth games , where she was a member of the gold medal-winning canadian team and tied for the bronze medal in the all-around .
in 1976 , the thirteen-year-old kelsall placed third at the canadian olympic trials .
fig regulations at the time required gymnasts to be fourteen years old by the start of the olympics .
the canadian gymnastics federation applied for , and received , a special exception for kelsall to compete , because she would turn fourteen by the end of the year .
at the olympics , kelsall placed a modest 27th in the all-around , but was a key member of the ninth-place canadian team .
canada participated in the olympic boycott of 1980 , and as such , kelsall did not have the opportunity to attend a second olympic games .
she moved on to college , where she competed as an ncaa gymnast for the university of california , berkeley for four years .
after her undergraduate work and a brief career as a professional dancer , kelsall returned to university .
she is currently a chiropractor in the pacific northwest , with additional certification in massage therapy and other modalities .
kelsall originated an element on balance beam , the kelsall stretch .
the skill is a flexibility move that is performed on the beam by standing on one foot while performing a split and grabbing the other leg from behind .
kelsall was featured in the book `` the making of a gymnast : the karen kelsall story '' -lrb- 1978 -rrb- authored by jean boulogne .
-lsb- http://issuu.com/arutai/docs/the-making-of-a-gymnast]
