Ipswich Olympic swimmer to be awarded honorary doctorate

Former Olympic swimmer and four-time World Champion gold medallist, Karen Pickering MBE, will be honoured with an honorary doctorate at the University of Suffolk next month.

Karen was the first British female swimmer to become World Champion, and was selected for the Great Britain senior team at the age of just 14. In a distinguished international career spanning two decades, she won 35 major international medals and 38 national titles.

Among her accolades are eight World Championship medals – four of which were golds – as well as 14 European Championship medals, and 13 medals (including four golds)   across four Commonwealth Games.

Karen was awarded an MBE in 1994 for services to swimming.

The veteran swimmer trained at Crown Pools in Ipswich, where she represented Team Ipswich from 1997 until her retirement in 2005.

Karen Pickering MBE said: “I’m honoured to accept the award of Honorary Doctor of the University of Suffolk.

“Ipswich was my home for over 20 years, and I represented Team Ipswich Swimming through most of my international career. With 10 training sessions a week, Crown Pools became like a second home.

“I had incredible support from so many people in Ipswich and Suffolk, and this is why this recognition means so much.”

Since retiring from active competition, Karen has remained closely involved in the sport, working as a commentator for the BBC covering swimming, diving and open water events, including the last five Olympic Games.

She has also contributed to athlete welfare and development as Chair of the British Athletes Commission, as well as holding board member positions at the English Institute of Sport, the British Olympic Association (BOA)-Athlete Commission and Sport England.

Karen currently works as Head of Swimming at a school in West Sussex, and in 2026 will take on a new leadership role as President of the English Schools Swimming Association to continue her commitment to developing young athletes.

The proud mum-of-two will receive her award on Monday 20 October, and will become the latest addition to a rollcall of honorary graduates at the University, which in previous years has included international superstar Ed Sheeran MBE, Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna, West End star Kerry Ellis and TV presenter Angela Rippon CBE among others.

Professor Jenny Higham, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Suffolk, said: “Graduation week is an incredibly special time as we celebrate the hard work and achievements of our graduates. 

“The conferral of an honorary degree to the esteemed Karen Pickering MBE is another wonderful addition to those ceremonies and inspires our students to future success.”

The University’s graduation ceremonies will kick-off on Friday 17 October at East Coast College in Great Yarmouth, before continuing at the Ipswich campus from Saturday 18 October.

You can find out more about graduation at the University of Suffolk on the website here.