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February 8, 2009
Allison Baver suffers broken leg in Bulgaria
This is really terrible news. At World Cup 5 in Sofia, Allison broke her leg in a bad crash in the women's 1500m A final. Per US Speedskating:
Two-time Olympian Allison Baver collided with teammate Katherine Reutter during the third lap of the Ladies 1500m A final at the ISU World Cup short track speed skating event in Sofia, Bulgaria on Sunday, leaving Baver with multiple fractures in her right leg. She will be flying back to Pennsylvania for surgery on Monday.“She entered the pads in a really bad position and it was impossible to do anything to avoid this injury,” said Laurent Daignault, National Short Track Assistant coach. “She’ll have to have a long straight cast to keep her leg stable. It looks painful, but she has a really strong attitude.”
After the race resumed, Reutter finished in second place, earning a silver medal and trip to the podium. In the Ladies 1500m B final, Jessica Smith finished first, putting in a strong performance at her first World Cup Short Track event. Kimberly Derrick finished fourth in the 1000m and Lana Gehring finished third in the 1000m B Final.
The U.S. men’s team struggled during Friday's and Saturday's events with falls and disqualifications. J.R. Celski was pulled out of the competition for the rest of the races after two falls in the relay quarter-final left him with a knee contusion.
“He managed to stand up twice and finish the race,” Daignault said, “and he still qualified for the semifinal. We withdrew him from the competition because of his condition and to allow him a fast recovery so he can be in good condition for next weekend and the World Championships.”
But in Sunday’s races, the men recouped with Jeff Simon winning a silver medal in the 500m and Jordan Malone earning a second-place finish in the second 1,000m event.
The team travels to Dresden, Germany, for next weekend’s ISU World Cup event and Daignault said they all are hoping for a quick return to the ice for Baver.
“The team wishes the best recovery for Allison,” he said, “All members of the team have been very helpful and nice to her.”
Wishing both Allison and J.R. a speedy recovery! Congrats to Katherine, J.R. and Jeff for their medals this weekend.
Posted by noelle at 9:23 PM | Comments (0)