Baver doesn't win but still triumphs

KEARNS — That Allison Baver was fighting for a place on the podium at the U.S. short track speedskating championships should not have been a surprise.

Yet, it was.

Just a few short weeks ago Baver, a two-time Olympian, frequent World Cup medalist and a national champion, was wondering if her career as an athlete was over.

"My heart rate would go up to like 190 before I even warmed up," Baver said. "We didn't know what was going on. So like just three weeks ago, I wasn't even skating. I didn't know if I'd ever race again."

Her heart problems are still not completely resolved — Baver estimates herself at about 80 percent of optimum — and she will undoubtedly go through months of tests, conditioning and treatment to correct the problem she says can be aggravated by something as simple as the normal post-race massages speedskaters get.

Still, Sunday afternoon at the Utah Olympic Oval, Baver was tucked safely into second position behind rising star Katherine Reutter in the 3,000-meter

race. The 27-year-old veteran had a rough-and-tumble weekend at the Oval and left the arena without any individual wins.

That was a little disappointing for Baver but ultimately not enough to ruin what was, in many ways, a triumphant return to competition considering the

circumstances.

"A couple of weeks ago, I wasn't even thinking about skating," Baver said. "I didn't know what to expect out of myself. But I had to do it just for myself and to try and focus my recovery and get ready for the World Cup and then the Games."

Reutter, who won the 500 and 1,500 earlier in the weekend, capped a marvelous weekend of competition with two more wins. She held off the field over the final several rotations of the 27-lap 3,000 race for another win and also jumped to the front of the pack in the 1,000 final with three laps to go — holding off a hard-charging Baver in both races for gold.

In the 1,000, Baver was preparing to make a move on Reutter, but clipped skates and was forced to pull up to avoid crashing.

"Katherine had a really good weekend," Baver said. "It's nice to see some of the other girls like her skating so strong because that means we're deeper and more talented than we have been. It's nothing but good news for the country."

On the men's side, Apolo Anton Ohno rebounded from his disqualification in Saturday's 500 final with a dominating performance in the 1,000 on Sunday.

After taking a lead early in the race, Ohno closed the door on Jeff Simon who skated to a second-place finish after trying for several laps to find a passing opportunity that never materialized.