United States at The 2006 Winter Paralympics

United States At The 2006 Winter Paralympics

The United States sent 56 athletes (45 men and 11 women) to the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Turin, Italy, the largest delegation of any nation. Chris Devlin-Young, a 15-year veteran of the U.S. Disabled Ski Team and four-time Paralympic medalist in alpine skiing, served as the flag bearer at the opening ceremonies. Sledge hockey player Lonnie Hannah, a member of the gold-medal-winning U.S. team at the 2002 Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City and the bronze-medal-winning team in Turin, was the flag bearer at the closing ceremonies.

The U.S. finished fifth in the gold and seventh in the overall medal count. While the United States' total medal count was down from the 2002 Winter Paralympics because the number of disability classes in both alpine and nordic skiing were significantly reduced, there were many standout U.S. performances. Steve Cook won three medals in nordic skiing, including gold in the men's standing category of the 5K and the 10K. In alpine skiing, Laurie Stephens won three medals in the women's sitting category, including gold in the downhill and super G, while in the men's downhill, Kevin Bramble won gold in the sitting category and his teammate Chris Devlin-Young took the silver. Allison Jones and Sandy Dukat won gold and bronze, respectively, in the women's standing category of the slalom. Stephani Victor was the gold medal winner in the women's sitting slalom. The U.S. sledge hockey team was unable to repeat its gold medal from the 2002 Winter Paralympics after losing 4-2 to Norway in the semifinals, but held on to win the bronze by beating Germany 4-3.