Allison Baver is Hard to Miss (VIDEO)
February 10, 2010 at 2:52 pm Ryan Jones 4 comments
If you’re a fan of the winter Olympics, you might have already heard of Allison Baver ’03 Berks. If not, be prepared to hear a lot more about her over the next few weeks. Baver (who we profiled in May/June 2006 issue) is a two-time Olympic speedskater who will compete in Vancouver in three events: the 1,000 and 1,500 meters and the 3,000-meter relay. She’s the American record holder in the 1,500 and part of the 3,000 team that also owns a U.S. record. This month, she’s looking for her first Olympic medal.
There’s plenty to love about Baver’s story, not least being how she’s overcome a series of injuries: A serious bone bruise suffered in a fall at the ’06 Olympics; a neck injury that sidelined her for six months in 2007; and an illness that limited her at the 2008 World Championships. Then, last February, she broke a leg in a collision with a teammate—but rehabbed in time for U.S. Olympic team trials last fall. For more on Baver’s travails, you can check out this profile on the Team USA site, or this short video profile on YouTube:
The human-interest angle helps explain why Baver figures to be one of the more heavily publicized American athletes at this year’s Games, but like all savvy Olympic athletes these days, she’s also been busy promoting herself. Baver has endorsement deals with Penske and Proctor & Gamble, as well as a modeling gigs through her agency, Wilhelmina Sports.
And of course, she’s all over social media. For more on Baver, you can check out her homepage here…
Her Facebook fan page here…
And her Twitter feed here.
And you can keep track of the speedskating schedule and all results here.
Ryan Jones, senior editor
Entry filed under: Other Penn State sports, Penn State Berks. Tags: Allison Baver, Speedskating, Video, Winter Olympics.
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1. More on Speed Skater (and Model) Allison Baver « | February 15, 2010 at 10:21 am
[...] speed skater Allison Baver ’03 Berks, whom Ryan Jones talked about last week, didn’t get a chance to compete on Saturday night—she got bumped from the semifinals of [...]
2. Allison Baver and the Penn State Gang in Vancouver « | February 22, 2010 at 10:17 am
[...] know of at least five Penn Staters at the Vancouver/Whistler Olympics—speed skater Allison Baver ’03 Berks and four people working in the news media. Baver missed out on a medal in the 1,500 [...]
3. DBD | February 23, 2010 at 3:53 pm
She actually did not get bumped. For all 5 girls to get a medal if and when they win one, all 5 girls must skate. So for this to happen, Allison sat out to wait until the final so one of the less inexperienced skaters could race.
4. A Down and Up Day for Allison Baver « | February 25, 2010 at 9:27 am
[...] Baver’s hometown paper, the Reading Eagle, also has a story about yesterday’s events, and you can read even more about Baver here. [...]