Allison Baver

Allison Baver stands proudly among the world's preeminent female short track speedskaters of the 21st century. The 2007 U.S. short track champion first gained global prominence at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

The 5-4 Reading, Pa. native is believed to be the first female U.S. inline skater to qualify for the Olympics in short track speedskating.

At 11, Allison competed in the National Roller Skating Championships in Philadelphia, Pa., and at Wilson High School, she was a soccer player and cheerleader. She did not take up speedskating until her junior year of high school.

A member of the U.S. short track speedskating squad since 2002, Allison has earned multiple medals in ISU Short Track World Cup competition.

The year 2009 will be devoted to training for her third Olympics, the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, she placed seventh in the women's 500-meter event and her 3000-meter relay team finished fourth.

Allison's first taste of Olympic competition came in her home country. At the Salt Lake City Winter Games in 2002, her 3000-meter relay team placed seventh.

A passport and competitive spirit has provided Allison passage across the globe: Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Slovakia, Sweden, Russia, United Kingdom and South Korea.

She earned a bachelor's degree in marketing and management from Penn State University and a MBA from the New York Institute of Technology. Allison, 28, is single and resides in Salt Lake City, Utah.