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| Nationality | Australian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1974-12-18)18 December 1974 (age 50) Kiama, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Karen Anne MurphyAM (born 18 December 1974) is an Australian internationallawn bowler and indoor bowler.[1]
After winning pairs silver and singles bronze in Moama in 2000[2] and pairs bronze in 2004, Murphy went on to win World Championship golds. Murphy won the2008 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in the fours,2012 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in the triples and twice in the singles at the2012 World Outdoor Bowls Championship and the2016 World Outdoor Bowls Championship.[3] She successfully defended her title in thesingles at the2016 World Outdoor Bowls Championship inChristchurch after defeatingLesley Doig in the final.[4] This achievement is generally agreed to have elevated her to being the best female bowler sinceMargaret Johnston.[5]
She has won gold medals at the2006 Commonwealth Games in the pairs. In addition she has won threeCommonwealth Games silver medals,[6] the most recent being in theWomen's triples at the2014 Commonwealth Games.[7]
She has won a remarkable 13 medals at theAsia Pacific Bowls Championships, of which no less than eight have been gold in colour.[8]
In 2023, Murphy won theAustralian National Bowls Championships fours title with Jamie-Lee Worsnop,Ellen Falkner andEllen Ryan,[9] to add to her threeAustralian Open titles.
In 2012, she also won theWorld Indoor Bowls Championship title, a fine achievement bearing in mind that she does not compete every year in the event held in England.
She has also been a guest commentator during theWorld Indoor Bowls Championships for theBBC. She was a Director for World Bowls from 2014-2018.
Murphy was awardedMember of the Order of Australia (AM) in the2021 Australia Day Honours, for "For significant service to lawn bowls as an elite player at the international level."[10]
In 2024, she was inducted into theSport Australia Hall of Fame.[11]
