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Former United States Olympic speedskater Allison Marie Baver has been charged with money laundering and eight separate counts of making a false statement to a bank, according to Joshua Rhett Miller of the New York Post, after fraudulently receiving over $10 million in COVID-19 relief funds.
Per that report, "Prosecutors said Baver submitted eight Paycheck Protection Program loan applications in April 2020 seeking $10 million for her entertainment firm. In each request, Baver said her average monthly payroll was as much as $4.7 million, but she actually had no payroll at all, court documents show."
Baver had claimed she employed between 100 and 430 people, though federal prosecutors said that she employed no one.
Of the $10 million she received, $150,000 was given to the production company for the film No Man of God, a film about serial killer Ted Bundy that stars Elijah Wood.
Baver retired from speedskating in 2017 and launched Allison Baver Entertainment, a production company, two years later. In 2020, she told the Salt Lake Tribune she had "several projects in development" and each needed a "substantial number of employees."
"Due to the need for large crews in close proximity, these types of productions have been particularly disrupted by the pandemic, and we recognize our responsibility to put these professionals back to work as soon and as safely as possible," she added at the time. "We hope to set a good example as the entertainment industry gets back on its feet."
Baver, 41, won a bronze medal at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver as part of the United States' 3,000-meter women's relay team. She also competed at the 2002 and 2006 Olympics.
There was a time when the United States was a force to be reckoned with in speedskating. The fastest skaters in the world were named Eric Heiden, Bonnie Blair and Dan Jansen, and they became legends because of their performances on the long track.
Going into the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the United States had 67 medals in the sport and 29 of them were gold, per US Speedskating. There was hope for some U.S. success, especially on the women's side with Heather Bergsma and Brittany Bowe leading the way, but the only medal the Americans got was in the ladies' team pursuit event.
Bergsma, Bowe, Mia Manganello and Carlijn Schoutens won the bronze in that event, and it was the only speedskating medal the Americans picked up on the long track. (John-Henry Krueger won the silver medal in the 1,000-meter short-track race, but that is a completely different discipline.)
The final events of the speedskating competition took place Saturday in the ladies' and men's mass start races.
Japan's Nana Takagi won the gold, while Korea's Kim Bo-Reum earned the silver and Irene Schouten of the Netherlands won the bronze.
On the men's side, Lee Seung-Hoon of Korea won the gold medal, and Belgium's Bart Swings took the silver. Koen Verweij of the Netherlands took third place and the bronze medal.
Here's a look at the complete Olympic results in speedskating.
The Netherlands opened the competition with a clean sweep in the ladies' 3,000-meter event. Carlijn Achtereekte finished first, followed by Ireen Wust and Antoinette De Jong.
The Dutch earned another gold medal in the men's 5,000 meters as Sven Kramer crossed the finish line and beat out Canada's Ted-Jan Bloemen, who took the silver medal, while Sverre Lunde Pedersen earned the bronze.
The strong showing by the Netherlands continued in the ladies' 1,500 meters, men's 1,500 meters and the ladies' 1,000. Wust earned the gold in the 1,500, and she was followed by Japan's Miho Takagi for the silver. Wust's countrywoman Marrit Leenstra earned the bronze medal.
Kjeld Nuis earned another gold for the Netherlands in the men's 1,500 meters, and teammate Patrick Roest earned the silver. Korea's Kim Min Seok gave the home fans something to cheer about by earning the bronze.
Jorien Ter Mors of the Netherlands won the 1,000-meter race, and Japan's Nao Kodaira and Miho Takagi earned the silver and bronze, respectively.
Bloemen earned the gold medal for Canada in the 10,000-meter distance event, as he outlasted Jorrit Bergsma of the Netherlands and Nicola Tumolero of Italy.
Esmee Visser got the Netherlands back on track with a win in the ladies' 5,000 meters. Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic took the silver, and Natalia Voronina, representing the Olympic Athletes from Russia, took the bronze medal.
The ladies' 500-meter sprint went to Kodaira, while Korea's Lee Sang-Hwa came in second and the Czech Republic's Karolina Erbanova was third.
Harvard Lorentzen of Norway won the gold medal in the men's 500-meter race, and he was followed by Korea's Cha Min Kyu and China's Gao Tingyu.
The Netherlands won the gold medal in the ladies' team pursuit, with Japan taking the silver and the United States garnering the bronze.
Korea earned a speedskating gold in the men's team pursuit, while Norway took the silver and the Netherlands had to settle for the bronze.
Nuis picked up his second individual gold medal by winning the men's 1,000 meters. Norway's Lorentzen earned the silver, and Korea's Kim Tae-Yun won the bronze in that event.
Lee Seung-Hoon won gold for South Korea in a dramatic Winter Olympics final of the men's long-track speedskating mass start on Saturday.
Lee timed his burst to perfection in the final stages to take the 60 points needed for victory, holding off the fast-finishing Bart Swings from Belgium and the Netherlands' Koen Verweij.
Here are the results from the mass start race as the long-track schedule came to a conclusion on Saturday:
Men's Mass Start
1. Lee Seung-Hoon (KOR) - 60 points
2. Bart Swings (BEL) - 40 points
3. Koen Verweij (NED) - 20 points
For the race result in full visit the Pyeongchang website.
Lee Gives Hosts First Long-Track Gold
The mass start is a new one for watchers of the Winter Olympics, and the semi-finals proved to be especially tactical.
The 7Olympics Twitter account provided a breakdown of how you pick up points:
The men's semis were intriguing spectacles too, although there were no major surprises as the racers fought for a position in the final.
World champion Joey Mantia progressed into the final after finishing second in one of the intermediate sprints, as did one of the big favourites for gold in Lee. The Netherlands' Sven Kramer also did enough to get into the 12-man scrap for gold.
Linus Heidegger of Austria crossed the line first in the first of the semis, while New Zealand's Peter Michael won the second.
BBC Sport relayed the qualifiers after a couple of fascinating semi-final battles:
The tactics in the final were much different. With winning, not qualifying, the order of the day for the competitors now, the race was always going to be geared towards crossing the line first and trying to take a haul of 60 points.
The results of the intermediate sprints were almost certainly only to have an effect on the minor places.
It was no surprise to see the experienced Kramer move up to the head of the field and try to dictate the pace to begin with, although the speed soon quickened as competitors tried to earn some minor points.
Heidegger won the battle for the first intermediate sprint, while Viktor Hald Thorup took the second. Meanwhile, the third wasn't too hotly contested, as Livio Wenger beat Thorup to it, and the medal favourites started jostling behind.
It was at this juncture when the race really caught alight, as Kramer, the distance specialist, made a break for gold four laps from the finish. He was initially able to put a big gap between himself and the rest of the field.
However, as the bell rang to signify the final lap, a swarm of skaters gobbled Kramer up, and Lee moved his way up to the front of the pack.
Swings and Verweij appeared to be cutting the gap down as the leading trio rounded the final bend. But with the home crowd roaring him on down the home straight, there was no chance of Lee letting this one go.
Japan won gold in the women's mass start speedskating at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Saturday, thanks to Nana Takagi's superb late sprint to finish ahead of South Korea's Kim Bo-Reum and Irene Schouten of the Netherlands, who had to settle for silver and bronze, respectively.
Meanwhile, Estonia's Saskia Alusalu won all three intermediate sprints to lock up a top-four finish.
Takagi finished on 60 points, 20 ahead of Kim and 40 better than Schouten, per the Games' official website. Her late run for gold capped a terrific race for an event making its mass start debut at the Olympics.
Here's the updated the medal tracker:
Earlier, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and China all qualified for the final after having skaters in the top three slots during the two semi-finals.
Italy's Francesca Lollobrigida, China's Guo Dan and Canadian Keri Morrison finished in first, second and third respectively in the opening semi-final. The Games' official websiterelayed the full results and list of qualifiers.
China were again in the top three for the second semi-final, as Li Dan finished third. Dutch skater Annouk van der Weijden and Nikola Zdrahalova of the Czech Republic finished above her, while Germany's Claudia Pechstein was in fourth, per the official site.
The stage was set for a closely contested first final at the Olympic level.
It was Alusalu who made the first break with 15 laps to go. She played the role of the "mugger" from the outside to come around the pack and win the first intermediate sprint, making her likely to earn a top-six finish.
Alusalu was still on the front with 12 laps to go as Li applied some pressure. Yet Alusalu guaranteed finishing in the top five by topping the next sprint.
The third and final intermediate sprint was also won by Alusalu, securing her fourth place. It marked the end of the strategy, as skaters started to jostle aggressively for position ahead of the dash for medals.
A lively race saw a group of seven create some distance. Among them, Schouten stole onto the front, but it was Takagi who made the late burst to see Japan over the line to claim gold, with Kim closing in.
There was disappointment for Lollobrigidia and Zdrahalova, who ended the race outside the top six, needing time to dictate their finishing places, with the former edging the latter into seventh.
The mass start events will bring the curtain down on the long-track speedskating schedule at the Olympics on Saturday at the Gangneung Oval in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The venue has played host to some fascinating contests over the last fortnight, although the most enthralling of all could be yet to come in one of the most unpredictable events in the sport. Given this is the first time such an event has been included in the Olympic programme, there's also an opportunity for some athletes to etch their name into the history books.
Saturday will see two semi-finals and a final for both the men and women involved in the competition, making it a perfect day for speedskating fanatics.
Read on for the latest viewing details for the mass start events and a preview of this inaugural Olympic edition of the long-track discipline.
Date: Saturday, February 24
TV Info: NBC Sports (U.S.), Eurosport (UK)
Live Stream: NBC Sports App (U.S.), Eurosport Player (UK)
Mass Start Schedule (Eastern time)
6 a.m. - Women's semi-final 1
6:15 a.m. - Women's semi-final 2
6:45 a.m. - Men's semi-final 1
7 a.m. - Men's semi-final 2
7:30 a.m. - Women's final
8 p.m. - Men's final
Mass Start Preview
Given this is the first time we've ever seen the mass start at the Games, there isn't a precedent that's been set that may point to what we should expect.
However, this has been on the schedule at the World Championships in the past; the two winners of the event in 2017, Joey Mantia and Kim Bo-reum, will both be in the tussle for gold in Pyeongchang. And encouragingly for the duo, it was at this venue where the Championships were held a year ago.
Given his win in this event in 2017, many cited Mantia as the United States' best chance for a gold medal in the long-track in Pyeongchang.
Here's a look at how Mantia won his medal at the World Championships and what can be expected from a frantic race:
While the American is tipped to be in the shakeup for gold, the form of Lee Seung-hoon, who has already won silver in the team pursuit, makes him an early favourite to take the title.
He was the winner of the 2016 World Championships in the mass start, and despite finishing in fourth position in the 10,000-metres, Lee set a new national record at these Games. It's clear the pace is there for him to trouble the rest of the field if he stays out of strife.
In the women's event, despite the presence of Kim, the Netherlands' Irene Schouten looks like the athlete to beat ahead of the mass start, although Francesca Lollobrigida and Ivanie Blondin are also medal contenders.
Speaking about the event, Blodin suggested viewers will be surprised by just how frenetic the mass start is.
"You can push people down, you can pull on people as you're passing them," she said, per Dan Barnes of the National Post. "You can put your hands on their skates. You can cut people off. It's not developed to the point where there are set rules, and it's not watched closely enough by the referees."
Kjeld Nuis blazed to victory in the men's 1,000-metre speedskating final and took gold for the Netherlands at the 2018 Winter Olympics on Friday by four-hundredths of a second.
A field of 36 skaters took to the ice for the final, but the best was saved for last as Nuis poked over the line in a winning time of one minute, 7.95 seconds.
Havard Lorentzen of Norway and Kim Tae Yun of South Korea clinched silver and bronze medals, respectively, but Lorentzen's winning time pitched him above the competition.
Here's a look at the updated medal table after Friday's 1,000-metre result:
The Asian nations quickly took control of proceedings as China's Yang Tao skated an early fastest time, followed by Japan's Tsubasa Hasegawa and home favourite Cha Min Kyu.
Cha already picked up silver in the men's 500 metres and beat the previous fastest time by more than half a second with a superb entry of one minute, 9.27 seconds, despite being sapped of all energy near the climax.
South Korean Chung Jaewoong joined his compatriot on the virtual podium approaching the final's midway point and moved into second, with skating partner, Sebastian Klosinski of Poland, up to third, per ISU Speed Skating:
Mitchell Whitmore of the United States picked back up after the interval and zipped into the lead by a tenth of a second with an effort of one minute, 9.17 seconds.
The Americans briefly had the lead stripped from their grasp by German Nico Ihle, but Whitmore's team-mate Joey Mantia followed his example by becoming the second athlete to break the one minute, nine-second mark to move into the lead.
The lead returned to South Korea thanks to Kim finishing in one minute, 8.23 seconds, more than three tenths of a second faster than the previous best, but he lasted only a few minutes at the head of the field.
Lorentzen started steady and was on track to match Kim's time but looked more at ease entering the final stretch and blazed into the lead, per Korea-based reporter David Volodzko:
This final was always billed as a likely head-to-head between Lorentzen and Nuis, the former having won gold in the shorter-distance 500 metres, with the latter already clinching gold in the longer 1,500 metres.
And it was Nuis' stamina that appeared to give him the edge. He looked capable of beating Lorentzen's time throughout his run, but some indecision around the final lane switch with Finland's Mika Poutala put his run in slight doubt.
Coming from the outside, however, Nuis had priority in making his way back to the inner track, and CBC heralded a narrow victory, bringing the Netherlands men their third speedskating gold in Pyeongchang:
Both Nuis and Lorentzen end their Games with two individual medals apiece.
Hosts South Korea will be disappointed not to have won a gold in any speedskating event with only the mass start left to go, but Kim's performance gives them their second bronze and their fourth speedskating medal overall.
The Netherlands has captured six of the 11 speedskating championships at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and there's a chance more could be on the way during the final three events of the competition.
The Dutch overall medal tally from the sport stands at 12 following silver in the women's team pursuit and bronze in the men's team pursuit Wednesday.
Japan boasts the second-best speedskating haul with five medals, while Norway has three after winning the men's team pursuit.
After watching nine different nations win a medal before it, the United States finally secured a speedskating medal with a bronze in the women's team pursuit.
The bronze was the first medal for the American women in the sport since 2002, and the first overall medal for the United States since 2010.
There could be more good news on the horizon for the Americans, with contenders on the roster of both mass start events.
Remaining Speedskating Schedule (All Times ET)
Friday, February 23
Men's 1,000-meters (5 a.m.)
Saturday, February 24
Women's mass start (6 a.m., final at 7:30 a.m.)
Men's mass start (6:45, final at 8 a.m.)
All events can be live-streamed on NBCOlympics.com.
Event Guides
Men's 1,000-meters
The Netherlands and the United States have split the last four Olympic titles in the men's 1,000-meters, with Chicago native Shani Davis winning back-to-back golds in 2006 and 2010.
Replicating Davis' triumphs from Turin and Vancouver is a difficult task for Joey Mantia, who sits 14th in the World Cup rankings and is focused more on the mass start.
Norway's Havard Lorentzen, who won the 500-meters Monday, is the leader in the World Cup rankings in the event, while the Dutch duo of Kjeld Nuis and Kai Verbij sit behind him in second and third, respectively.
Nuis also has a gold in Pyeongchang in the 1,500-meters, while Verbij is in search of his first individual podium finish.
It wouldn't be surprising if the event comes down to the pair of Olympic champions, with an extra Dutch presence on the medal podium in the form of either Verbij, Thomas Krol or Koen Verweij.
If you're looking for a medal favorite outside of Norway and the Netherlands, Finland's Mika Poutala could make a charge at the podium.
Men's Mass Start
All of the American eggs have been put in the mass start basket.
Mantia is the defending world champion in the new Olympic event, and he stands a significant chance of leaving the chaos with gold.
However, he'll have to navigate a tricky race of 24 competitors, with a start similar to short-track speedskating.
Mantia's top challengers are France's Alexis Contin and Canada's Olivier Jean, but it's likely an unexpected foe rises up in the event due to the frenetic nature of the 16-lap competition.
If the trio of medalists from the 2017 World Single Distance Championships sweep the Olympic podium, it will be because of a relatively clean race.
Although the mass start won't boast the same amount of chaos as any short-track competition, it should provide a few unexpected twists along the way.
Women's Mass Start
After picking up a bronze in the women's team pursuit, Heather Bergsma should skate with plenty of confidence in the women's mass start.
The American, who finished eighth in two events and 11th in another in Pyeongchang, is looking for redemption on an individual level in the final women's event of the speedskating program.
Bergsma took bronze in the event a year ago at the World Single Distance Championships behind South Korea's Kim Bo-reum and Japan's Nana Takagi.
Although South Korea boasts four speedskating medals, it's still searching for gold in the sport, and Kim provides the host nation with the best opportunity to do so.
As there is in every speedskating event, there's a Dutch medal favorite in Irene Schouten, while Italy's Francesca Lollobrigida and Canada's Ivanie Blondin could also find themselves on the podium.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from Olympic.org and ISU.org.
Norway's trio of Havard Bokko, Simen Spieler Nilsen and Sverre Lunde Pedersen produced a stunning performance to beat South Korea in the men's team pursuit in the long-track speedskating Winter Olympics final on Wednesday.
Despite the backing of a home crowd for South Korea, the Norwegian team rallied, winning with a time of 3 minutes, 37.31 seconds. They were eventually a sizeable 1.21 seconds ahead of the hosts.
In the women's event, Japan broke the Olympic record on their way to gold, as Miho Takagi, Ayana Sato and Nana Takagi beat the Dutch trio in the gold-medal race with a time of 2:53.89; the Netherlands had lowered the record earlier in the day in their semi-final.
The United States were able to take bronze in the women's competition after beating Canada, while the Netherlands dominated New Zealand in the men's showdown for third.
Here are the results from an absorbing day in the team pursuit finals.
Team Pursuit Results
Women's
Gold-Medal Race: Japan (2:53.89, OR) beat Netherlands (2:55.47)
Bronze-Medal Race: United States (2:59.27) beat Canada (2:59.72)
Men's
Gold-Medal Race: Norway (3:37.31) beat South Korea (3:38.52)
Bronze-Medal Race: Netherlands (3:38.40) beat New Zealand (3:43.54)
For the day's results in full visit the Pyeongchang website.
Glory for Norway and Japan
The structure of the team pursuit event is geared towards a gripping conclusion, as four races—two for men and two for women—brought the day's action to an end. And in each one a medal was on the line.
The two teams that failed to win their semi-finals dropped into a battle for bronze, and setting the tone for the finals was a scrap in the women's event between longstanding rivals USA and Canada.
The United States just about did enough to take bronze, that despite a hairy last lap that saw their opponents chop down a gap of two seconds to just 0.45 seconds. As noted by NBC Sports' Nick Zaccardi, this medal had been a long time coming for Team USA:
Much was expected of the Netherlands in the final, as the trio of had already broken the Olympic record in the semi-finals.
After leading much of the final against Japan, the Dutch appeared to be in total control of the contest. However, they lost ground when trying to change the order of skaters late in the race and the slicker changeovers from Japan put them in control.
As the results show, eventually Japan were comfortable winners. As noted by the Team World Blog, the sense of Dutch dominance in long track was beginning to slip, too:
Meanwhile, per Gracenote Olympic, the victory for Japan made this their most successful Games ever:
The Dutch had a chance to bounce back in the next event, as the Netherlands men battled against New Zealand for the bronze. Within one lap, they had a lead of more than a half-second on their rivals from Down Under.
While in some of the earlier races, there were oscillations in the lead, but this time the margin continued to widen, allowing the Dutch to ease off in the final stages.
Attention then turned to the showdown between Norway and South Korea, with the latter team backed by a raucous home support. And at the midpoint of the race, the Koreans had reeled Norwegians in to lead after a slow start.
But Bokko, Nilsen and Pedersen had something in reserve, as they surged through the final stages and pulled out a big gap to the hosts. The majority of those in the Gangneung Oval falling silent late on would've been enough to let the South Korean team know that they would have to settle for silver on this occasion.
Hosts South Korea claimed gold in a chaotic but scintillating women's 3,000-metre short-track speedskating relay on Tuesday as the Dutch took bronze despite not even competing in the final.
The defending champions led for only the final two laps of the 27-lap race and were indebted to the brilliant Choi Minjeong, 19, who finished in fantastic fashion to edge China at the line in a time of four minutes, 7.361 seconds.
Italy initially finished some way back in third with a time of 4:15.901 after being caught up in a tangle involving the Canadian team.
But after a long review, China and Canada were both penalised, meaning Italy were promoted to the silver-medal position. The team from the Netherlands took bronze after winning the B final with a world-record time of 4:03.471.
The full results can be found here, and here is the latest medal table:
Korea's team of Minjeong, Shim Sukhee, Kim Yejin and Kim Alang did not make the best of starts and were trailing at the back for the early exchanges. China, meanwhile, took their place at the front and looked comfortable.
The roaring crowd at the Gangneung Ice Arena was not to be denied its drama or triumph, though, and the noise levels increased tenfold whenever the Korean team made a move.
The hosts eventually got up into second place with 15 laps to go before Canada retook the position three laps later.
Korea had work to do, but they benefitted from a crash involving Alang and the Canadian team, which also affected the Italians at the changeover with five laps remaining.
The home team took full advantage to bear down on the Chinese team and take the lead on the final changeover with two laps left.
The brilliant change saw Minjeong into the lead in the final stretch, and she held firm to stop the Chinese from retaking the lead before the line.
