Here's an excellent 'teaser' for Allison's upcoming speech at Temple University, Ambler (Philly area) on Oct 13. It's a very good interview, so enjoy!
September 27, 2010
2010 Olympic Medalist Allison Baver to present "No Limits," the story of her life and inspiring career, at Temple University AmblerWHERE: Temple University Ambler, Learning Center Auditorium, 580 Meetinghouse Road
WHEN: Wednesday, October 13, 7 p.m.
Citius, Altius, Fortius — Swifter, Higher, Stronger.For 2010 Olympic Short Track Speed Skating Medalist Allison Baver, the Olympic motto isn’t simply words to inspire athletes to strive for their best. For Baver, it’s how she approaches every facet of her life, on and off the ice.
In 2009, Baver, a Pennsylvania native, faced a seemingly insurmountable challenge — a horrific injury that would have ended the career of most athletes.
Read the Entire Story:
www.temple.edu/ambler/news/540-AllisonBaver.htm+++
Tags: Allison Baver / Short Track Speedskating
“I was competing in the Overall World Cup in Bulgaria in the 1,500 meters. I made a pass to win the title and was pushed,” said Baver, who will speak at Temple University Ambler on Wednesday, October 13. “Before the injury, I was considered a contender for a gold medal in every (short track speed skating) distance at the 2010 Olympics, but there I was being rushed back to Philadelphia with a shattered leg. They said it would be impossible to come back from the injury; they said I’d never even walk correctly again.”
Baver, however, has built a career out of achieving the impossible. After a career-saving surgical procedure and “an insane amount of rehab,” which she continues to this day, just seven months after the accident she was back on the ice at the Olympic Trials. Against all odds she earned her place on the largest athletic stage in the world — the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada.
“I had to do what was seriously considered impossible. My foot wouldn’t even fit in my skate correctly — I was competing in a lot of pain,” she said. “In a situation like that, you have to take yourself to a level you never thought possible. Giving up was never an option.”
Where just a few short months earlier she couldn’t even walk, Baver was skating for her country, herself, her parents, her team, and sponsors — “everyone who influenced and supported my dream.” Staging one of the greatest comebacks in Olympic history, she brought home the Bronze Medal for the United States in the 3000 meter Women’s Relay.
It is her belief that “if you dream it, you can make it happen,” that Baver wants to share at Temple University Ambler.
On Wednesday, October 13, Baver will present “No Limits,” in the Temple University Ambler Learning Center Auditorium, sharing her inspirational story and the keys to her success in skating and in life. The program, which is free and open the public, will begin at 7 p.m.
“I’d like to talk about making dreams a reality,” said the 2002, 2006, and 2010 Olympian.
Baver’s Olympic dream began at a young age when she had the opportunity to attend the Summer Games with her mother and father. She admired “the dedication and the lifestyle” on display at the Olympic Training Center. She now lives that lifestyle of all-day training sessions and a “120-percent” commitment to do your best. And while her future success would come on the ice, her first introduction to skating occurred firmly on solid ground.
“I remember being introduced to roller skating when I was in fourth grade. I was able to take part in a national inline speed skating competition at the Philadelphia Civic Center in 1991,” she said. “I loved racing and wanted to do my best, be the best, and win every time I stepped on the track. That passion has always remained constant.”
Baver, whose brother Brad attends Temple University and takes courses at the Ambler Campus, first stepped into ice skates while in high school. In her junior year of college, she moved to the U.S. Olympic Education Center, fully committing herself to her Olympic dream, engaging in a rigorous schedule of training and college classes.
“It was a little uncommon; Olympians train in their sport their entire lives. But in a sense I had been training my whole life, just not on the ice,” she said. “I watched the 1998 Winter Olympic Trails and said to myself ‘I can do this!’ Four years later, I qualified and broke the American record in the 1000 meters. I was the first female inline skater to make the transition to ice and qualify in short track speed skating — now there are quite a few of us.”
Walking with her country into the stadium during the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, “was simply awe-inspiring,” Baver said.
“It was in our own country not long after 9-11,” she said. “With the president there, the military, the cheering crowd, you got a huge sense of what the Olympics are all about and how powerful sport is from an international standpoint.”
During her career, Baver has become the most decorated American female short track speed skater in World Cup history and currently holds the American records in the 1,500 and 3,000 meter relay. She was the 2007 National Short Track Champion and has dozens of National and World Cup medals to her name. During the 2006 Olympic Games, she was named the “Most Studious Athlete” by Sports Illustrated — education has been an important factor in her success throughout her life, according to Baver. With a BA in Marketing and Management and an MBA specializing in Marketing, she was also nominated to appear on Donald Trump’s The Apprentice.
While Baver has many titles to her name — one of the “Hottest Female Athletes of the Olympics” being one of the most recent thanks to TMZ and Esquire.com — “Olympic Medalist” means the most to her.
“The medal was the culmination of my lifetime in skating. When you dedicate your life to something and you have that ability taken away from you, it forces you to reexamine everything,” she said. “You’ve come so far; what are you going to do to re-capture that dream? Whatever you are doing in your life, whatever you are passionate about, never quit.”
Baver has certainly had no problem diversifying her skills on and off the ice. She completed both her undergraduate and graduate degrees while competing worldwide. In 2008, she also signed with Wilhelmina Models NY. She is one of the faces of Procter & Gamble Beauty, whose products include Pantene, CoverGirl, and Olay, and has worked with companies such as Nike, Panasonic, The Home Depot, McDonald’s, and AT&T. She has also been featured in a wide array of magazines, including Women’s Health, Muscle and Fitness, Men’s Health, People, US Weekly, Cosmopolitan, and Sports Illustrated.
“I my life, I always want to feel like I’m moving forward in something so continuing my education to complete my MBA was something that I knew I wanted to do. To achieve in school while I was training, I had to really focus on what I was doing, plan ahead, and schedule my days accordingly,” she said. “My educational background has helped tremendously in my career. As an athlete, you’re essentially self employed — you’re a brand in and of yourself.”
Becoming a professional model was a natural progression to her business plan, she said.
“From a marketing perspective, I have always thought there was a place for athletes in fashion and beauty,” she said while making a recent trip to the Fitness to Fashion Show in New York. “I’m negotiating my own contracts; I’m dealing with companies and reaching out to sponsors. You truly never know how what you learn in the classroom will apply in your life.”
Baver put her business acumen to excellent use when developing “Off the Ice” (www.offtheice.org) in 2010. The mission of the non-profit organization is to use skating as a tool to “instill goal development, character values, and healthy lifestyles in youth” by providing skates, curriculum, and related equipment to organizations and communities throughout the world.
“If you are in a position to help others achieve their goals and dreams, you have to take those opportunities,” she said. “You have to have confidence; never doubt yourself. You have to find what you love, what you want to do, and simply do it.”
For more information about Allison Baver’s appearance at Temple University Ambler, contact 267-468-8018 or duffyj@temple.edu.[/img]