This well-written 4-page article is one of the best and most all-inclusive pieces I've ever seen about Allison - a must-read!
Berks County's Allison Baver, an Olympic medalist, has ice in her veinsBy Tom Housenick | SPECIAL TO THE MORNING CALL / March 22, 2010
It was just one glance and it lasted only a few seconds. But for Allison Baver -- who once trained in the Lehigh Valley -- it completed her Olympic journey.
After Baver, a former Sinking Spring, Berks County, resident, took her victory lap with her United States women's 3,000-meter short track speedskating relay teammates in celebration of the bronze medal they earned last month during the 2010 Winter Olympics, she peeked into the crowd one final time.
As she left Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum ice, the 29-year-old heard her named called and then saw a bunch of crazed fans with ''speedskate chick'' T-shirts. They were all screaming.
''That's when I cried,'' Baver said recently during a break from training for an upcoming World Cup event in Bulgaria. ''That was the best moment ever.''
To read the entire article:
articles.mcall.com/2010-03-22/sports/all-s-baver.7211725mar22_1_skating-olympic-sport-inline+++
Baver enjoyed the late dinner that followed at a local restaurant with parents Brad and Dixie, siblings Crystal and Brad Jr., nephew Brad III and several friends. It was during those family moments that Baver realized that all of the hard work, the treks to Baltimore, Harrisburg and Whitehall's Lehigh Valley Ice Arena (now The Rink at Lehigh Valley) to train and the mental fortitude to overcome a slew of injuries and illnesses were worth it.
''It was the greatest feeling to be able to look into her eyes, to see her entire face at that moment and know how hard she worked in the last year, to receive that medal,'' Dixie Baver said. ''We showed the medal to everybody at the restaurant.''
Allison, living and training in Salt Lake City, has the medal with her at all times. It's in her purse, her car, her house. Though Baver said it hasn't sunk in just yet, she also can't go anywhere without someone reminding her of what she accomplished.
''I'm at the Cheesecake Factory right now, it's where I go every day to get the same salad,'' she said. ''The bartender who knows me brought his daughter in just to meet me and see the medal. It's moments like those that are awesome.''
But the ride to Olympic success has been a challenging, sometimes scary one. The setbacks were numerous for Baver, who started her competitive career in roller skating and inline skating.
There was a 47-stitch cut to her face. Torn ligaments in her ankle. Twice. Sprained back. Broken leg. And an autonomic nerve problem and a parasite infection.
Lehigh Valley daysBaver, whose parents still live in Sinking Spring, started roller skating in nearby Shillington. She then graduated to inline skating. At 14, she was part of the first World Cup competition in the sport. But she was too young to compete in the world championships and inline skating wasn't (and still isn't) an Olympic sport, so she needed to find something else to satisfy her competitive craving.
''She was always into something that was a little more dangerous,'' Dixie Baver said.
Shawn Walb, her inline coach in Shillington, took Allison on the trip that would change her life forever. They journeyed to Lake Placid, N.Y., to watch the Olympic Trials for short track speedskating.
That's when Allison Baver decided to convert her inline boots to ice skates. She traded in her wheels for a narrow blade.
Soon after, she traveled to the Lehigh Valley, Baltimore and Harrisburg to get ice time she couldn't get in Berks County.
Still she needed to make more of a commitment if she was going to be able to compete on national and international levels.
In 2001, Baver left Penn State University after two years and moved to Marquette, Mich., where she enrolled at Northern Michigan University and skated nearly every day.
''It is a good feeling knowing that, as parents, we did everything we could for our child growing up to be able to reach her goal,'' Dixie Baver said. ''We drove her 23 hours to Marquette. ''I cried the whole way up.''
The bold move quickly paid off.
Mounting injuriesWithin that first year in Michigan, Allison Baver won the first World Cup short track event she entered, setting an American women's record in the process, and qualified for the 2002 Olympic team. In 2002, her 3,000-meter relay team finished seventh at the Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Baver went back to Penn State to earn a marketing and management degree in 2003, won five medals in 10 World Cup events and finished the 2004-05 season ranked third overall.
But, for every successful step forward, there was something that made her take one step back.
''We should have known,'' Dixie Baver said. ''The very first time her father went to see her compete [in speedskating], he called me from a Red Bank, N.J., hospital. Another skater tried to jump over her. Her skate went through [Allison's] helmet, cut her forehead and cheek. It missed her eye, thank goodness. She needed 47 stitches.''
That was just a painful sign of what was to come. Six years later in 2005, a fellow competitor crashed into Baver, who injured her ankle.
''That's when everything started,'' she recalled.
One of Baver's grandmothers was diagnosed with cancer and eventually passed away.
The skater's ankle injury was worse that originally thought. She missed months of training.
Her first time back on ice (in 2006), she fell again, re-injuring the same ankle and spraining her back. She was in a wheelchair for weeks. Still, she managed, with limited training, to win the 2007 U.S. Championships.
''That was one of my biggest accomplishments to this day,'' she said.
Baver returned to her suburban Reading home, worked with trainer John ''Doc'' Moyer at her alma mater, Wilson High School in West Lawn, and orthopedic specialist Dr. Gary Canner in Reading.
''I've worked with NFL players and other Olympians,'' Moyer said. ''Allison has more perseverance than any of them. It is inspiring working with her.''
With Moyer working on balance and strength training, Baver's ankle recovered in time for the world championships in Hungary.
''To go through all of the pain and to know down the road that these injuries are going to cause problems for her,'' Moyer said, ''it's really amazing that she's willing to do all of this and isn't making millions.''
It was in Hungary she was told it was time to move to Utah to be able to train with other Olympic competitors.
Just before returning from Hungary, a parasite found its way into her system, causing excessive vomiting.
''I lost weight because of the parasite and was in really good shape,'' she joked.
The worst arrivesWhile that lingered even after she moved to Utah, a family vacation to Hawaii was to provide some relief. But, then came perhaps the strangest twist. While receiving a deep-tissue massage, the masseur used his elbows too hard while pressing into her upper back and neck.
It caused a trauma that put her heart in tachycardia. Her heart rate was at 130 beats per minute at rest, 170 just trying to get into the skate position.
After visits to several doctors, MRIs and brain scans, Baver was diagnosed with an autonomic nerve problem. Her prolactin levels in the brain were elevated and other symptoms caused her problems in day-to-day life.
''I would walk out into a parking lot and forget where I parked my car,'' she recalled. ''I couldn't sweat. I was extremely thirsty.''
Baver had to leave reminder notes for herself on the walls of her apartment and went through rehabilitation for her neck. The combination of therapy and rest had her back in training, but not until five months had passed.
Still, she could only work out in 30-second intervals. But, she managed to finish first overall in the U.S. Championships and won a bronze medal in her first World Cup event.
''I couldn't run for 10 minutes,'' she said. ''How could I do this?''
Between World Cup events, Baver's other grandmother died and she got sick again -- losing more training time for international events and the approaching 2010 Olympics.
Then in a 2009 World Cup competition, she got tangled with another skater and broke her leg.
''If the broken bone was in perfect alignment, I would have just put a cast on it,'' said Dr. Wen Chao of Pennsylvania Hospital, who performed Baver's surgery. ''Allison's leg was in a whole bunch of pieces and there was a lot of swelling.''
Baver had broken the tibia shaft (the middle of the shin), but the fracture line extended to the ankle joint. Called a pilon fracture, it was more severe than just a tibia fracture. Baver couldn't do anything weight-bearing for three months.
''My legs shriveled to nothing,'' she said in frustration.
But frustration is something that only motivates Baver more.
''I remember seeing her at a Giant grocery story with her mom,'' Moyer recalled. ''[Allison] was in a wheelchair, but she wasn't going to just sit around and do nothing.''
Baver again pushed herself to the limit in rehabbing her leg to get her ready for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
''For me, it's a technical part of putting the jigsaw pieces back together,'' said Chao, a foot and ankle specialist. ''But how well the bone heels, how the soft tissue heals, how quickly the body can get back into shape for Olympic training, [Allison] had total control over that.''
'So overwhelming'Baver refused to miss out on her third Olympics, and what would be her first medal.
''I remember standing during the Opening Ceremonies texting [Dr. Chao],'' she said. ''I said that I couldn't explain the feeling I have right now. It was so overwhelming.''
With the Olympic medal in hand, Baver has no intention of slowing down. In addition to World Cup events, she is working on her charity, Off the Ice, in which she is trying to provide inner-city kids with an option to hanging out in the streets.
Baver's Web site has launched, and a two-day kickoff event is planned for April 30 and May 1 somewhere in eastern Pennsylvania.
Baver said she will donate skates and other equipment to kids who have the interest in the sport, doing things similar to golf's First Tee program.
''Sports can do so much for kids,'' she said.
Baver also is trying to get a book, ''Bubbles the Dragon,'' published. She first wrote the story in elementary school.
''I'm living the dream,'' Baver acknowledged. ''I'm doing everything I love to do. It's been really awesome.''
Tom Housenick is a freelance writer.[/img]
Tags: Allison Baver / Short Track Speedskating