Karen Venhuizen

Karen Venhuizen
Venhuizen in 2007.
Personal information
Country represented	Netherlands
Born	(1984-04-04) 4 April 1984 (age 33)
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Former coach	Sylvia Holtes
Former choreographer	Sylvia Holtes, Karen Venhuizen Lisa Michael
Skating club	KCG Groningen
Began skating	1989
Retired	2008
ISU personal best scores
Combined total	126.30 2008 Europeans
Short program	45.53 2008 Europeans
Free skate	80.77 2008 Europeans

Karen Venhuizen (born 4 April 1984) is a Dutch former competitive figure skater. She is the 2003 Triglav Trophy champion, the 2007 International Challenge Cup champion, and a nine-time (2000–08) Dutch national champion. She qualified for the free skate at seven ISU Championships – two World and five European Championships. Her best placement, 14th, came at the 2008 Europeans.

Venhuizen was born 4 April 1984 in Zoetermeer, Netherlands. From 2001 to 2003, she suffered from anorexia nervosa. After the 2008 European Championships, she was diagnosed with Guillain–Barré syndrome.

Venhuizen started skating at the age of five. In the 1999–2000 season, she debuted on the ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) series and then won her first senior national title, earning assignments to her first ISU Championships. In February 2000, she reached the free skate and finished 21st overall at the European Championships in Vienna after placing tenth in her qualifying group, 23rd in the short, and 21st in the free. In March, she competed at the 2000 World Junior Championships in Oberstdorf; she advanced out of her qualifying group but was eliminated after the short program.