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. ice 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.

## Medalists

American athletes won seven gold, two silver, and three bronze medals at the games. Laurie Stephens and Steve Cook both won multiple medals; Stephens took two golds and a silver in alpine skiing, and Cook won two golds and a bronze in cross-country skiing. In the 'by discipline' sections below, medalists' names are in bold.

| Medal | Name | Sport | Event |
| - | - | - | - |
| Gold | Kevin Bramble | Alpine skiing | Men's downhill sitting |
| Gold | Allison Jones | Alpine skiing | Women's slalom standing |
| Gold | Laurie Stephens | Alpine skiing | Women's downhill sitting |
| Gold | Laurie Stephens | Alpine skiing | Women's super-G sitting |
| Gold | Stephani Victor | Alpine skiing | Women's slalom sitting |
| Gold | Steven Cook | Cross-country skiing | Men's 10 km standing |
| Gold | Steven Cook | Cross-country skiing | Men's 5 km standing |
| Silver | Christopher Devlin-Young | Alpine skiing | Men's downhill sitting |
| Silver | Laurie Stephens | Alpine skiing | Women's giant slalom sitting |
| Bronze | Sandy Dukat | Alpine skiing | Women's slalom standing |
| Bronze | Steven Cook | Cross-country skiing | Men's 20 km standing |
| Bronze | United States national ice sledge hockey team Steven CashTaylor ChaceDavid ConklinJames ConnellyBrad EmmersonManuel GuerraMichael HallmanLonnie HannahJoseph HowardTim JonesTaylor LipsettChristopher MannsAlexi SalamoneKip St. GermaineAndrew Yohe | Ice sledge hockey | Men's team |

## Alpine skiing

The United States sent 27 alpine skiers to the Games, 20 men and 7 women. The men's team took home two medals, a gold and a silver won by Kevin Bramble and Christopher Devlin-Young, respectively, in the downhill sitting event. The women won six medals, including two in the slalom standing event: a gold won by Allison Jones and a bronze by Sandy Dukat. Laurie Stephens was the alpine skiing team's most prolific medalist, with two golds and one silver.

### Men

| Athlete | Events | Final | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Events | Real time | Calculated time | Rank |
| Erik Bayindirli | Giant slalom sitting | 2:40.35 | 2:15.85 | 33 |
| Kevin Bramble | Downhill sitting | 1:36.26 | 1:21.03 | |
| Kevin Bramble | Super-G sitting | 1:32.14 | 1:17.69 | 10 |
| Carl Burnett | Downhill sitting | 1:39.68 | 1:22.48 | 5 |
| Carl Burnett | Giant slalom sitting | 2:29.73 | 2:06.85 | 22 |
| Carl Burnett | Slalom sitting | 2:06.93 | 1:36.98 | 16 |
| Carl Burnett | Super-G sitting | 1:41.40 | 1:24.26 | 31 |
| Christopher Canfield | Giant slalom standing | 2:15.17 | 2:04.15 | 31 |
| Christopher Canfield | Slalom standing | Disqualified | Disqualified | Disqualified |
| Christopher Canfield | Super-G standing | 1:23.88 | 1:17.40 | 32 |
| Nick Catanzarite | Downhill sitting | DNF | DNF | DNF |
| Nick Catanzarite | Giant slalom sitting | 2:51.97 | 2:16.35 | 34 |
| Nick Catanzarite | Slalom sitting | DNF | DNF | DNF |
| Nick Catanzarite | Super-G sitting | 1:33.99 | 1:15.12 | 4 |
| Christopher Devlin-Young | Downhill sitting | 1:37.46 | 1:22.04 | |
| Christopher Devlin-Young | Giant slalom sitting | 2:14.58 | 1:55.37 | 4 |
| Christopher Devlin-Young | Slalom sitting | 1:59.17 | 1:33.36 | 8 |
| Christopher Devlin-Young | Super-G sitting | DNF | DNF | DNF |
| Timothy Fox | Giant slalom standing | 1:52.63 | 1:51.82 | 8 |
| Timothy Fox | Slalom standing | DNF | DNF | DNF |
| Timothy Fox | Super-G standing | 1:15.03 | 1:14.66 | 20 |
| Ralph Green | Downhill standing | DNF | DNF | DNF |
| Ralph Green | Giant slalom standing | 2:33.36 | 2:20.86 | 46 |
| Ralph Green | Slalom standing | 1:40.93 | 1:40.93 | 36 |
| Ralph Green | Super-G standing | DNF | DNF | DNF |
| Gerald Hayden | Downhill sitting | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| Gerald Hayden | Giant slalom sitting | 2:27.10 | 2:06.10 | 20 |
| Gerald Hayden | Slalom sitting | 2:06.32 | 1:38.97 | 19 |
| Gerald Hayden | Super-G sitting | 1:40.20 | 1:24.49 | 32 |
| John Knudsen | Giant slalom sitting | 2:27.09 | 2:07.56 | 25 |
| James Lagerstrom | Downhill standing | 1:22.70 | 1:22.49 | 6 |
| James Lagerstrom | Giant slalom standing | 1:59.61 | 1:58.74 | 20 |
| James Lagerstrom | Slalom standing | 1:31.49 | 1:30.61 | 23 |
| James Lagerstrom | Super-G standing | 1:15.31 | 1:14.94 | 22 |
| Roger Lee | Downhill sitting | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| Roger Lee | Giant slalom sitting | 2:29.95 | 2:07.04 | 23 |
| Roger Lee | Slalom sitting | 2:08.66 | 1:38.30 | 18 |
| Roger Lee | Super-G sitting | 1:37.53 | 1:21.05 | 19 |
| Monte Meier | Downhill standing | 1:29.10 | 1:24.31 | 17 |
| Monte Meier | Giant slalom standing | DNF | DNF | DNF |
| Monte Meier | Slalom standing | 1:24.03 | 1:24.03 | 8 |
| Monte Meier | Super-G standing | 1:20.39 | 1:14.18 | 17 |
| Andrew Parr | Giant slalom visually impaired | 2:16.14 | 2:04.01 | 8 |
| Andrew Parr | Slalom visually impaired | 1:52.66 | 1:34.83 | 9 |
| Reed Robinson | Downhill standing | 1:27.51 | 1:27.33 | 29 |
| Reed Robinson | Giant slalom standing | 1:59.70 | 1:59.46 | 24 |
| Reed Robinson | Slalom standing | 1:34.67 | 1:33.63 | 28 |
| Reed Robinson | Super-G standing | 1:18.62 | 1:18.46 | 40 |
| George Sansonetis | Downhill standing | 1:30.37 | 1:26.15 | 26 |
| George Sansonetis | Giant slalom standing | 2:07.39 | 1:58.34 | 18 |
| George Sansonetis | Slalom standing | DNF | DNF | DNF |
| George Sansonetis | Super-G standing | 1:21.46 | 1:15.26 | 24 |
| Josh Sundquist | Giant slalom standing | 2:28.14 | 2:16.06 | 44 |
| Josh Sundquist | Slalom standing | 1:40.26 | 1:40.26 | 34 |
| Joseph Tompkins | Downhill sitting | DNF | DNF | DNF |
| Joseph Tompkins | Giant slalom sitting | 2:45.43 | 2:20.16 | 37 |
| Joseph Tompkins | Super-G sitting | 1:40.20 | 1:23.27 | 28 |
| Tyler Walker | Downhill sitting | 1:40.71 | 1:25.79 | 15 |
| Tyler Walker | Giant slalom sitting | 2:13.97 | 1:56.18 | 6 |
| Tyler Walker | Slalom sitting | 2:00.26 | 1:35.49 | 14 |
| Tyler Walker | Super-G sitting | 1:31.13 | 1:17.75 | 11 |
| Brad Washburn | Downhill standing | 1:25.26 | 1:25.05 | 21 |
| Brad Washburn | Giant slalom standing | 1:56.45 | 1:55.60 | 15 |
| Brad Washburn | Slalom standing | 1:25.81 | 1:24.99 | 10 |
| Brad Washburn | Super-G standing | 1:16.30 | 1:15.93 | 30 |

### Women

| Athlete | Events | Final | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Events | Real time | Calculated time | Rank |
| Sandy Dukat | Downhill standing | 1:40.95 | 1:35.53 | 8 |
| Sandy Dukat | Giant slalom standing | 2:16.50 | 2:05.36 | 8 |
| Sandy Dukat | Slalom standing | 1:33.66 | 1:33.66 | |
| Sandy Dukat | Super-G standing | 1:26.85 | 1:20.14 | 6 |
| Lacey Heward | Downhill sitting | 1:56.71 | 1:36.57 | 4 |
| Lacey Heward | Giant slalom sitting | 2:48.20 | 2:22.50 | 8 |
| Lacey Heward | Slalom sitting | 2:28.63 | 1:53.56 | 4 |
| Lacey Heward | Super-G sitting | 1:45.42 | 1:27.60 | 8 |
| Allison Jones | Downhill standing | 1:40.58 | 1:35.18 | 7 |
| Allison Jones | Giant slalom standing | 2:14.10 | 2:03.16 | 5 |
| Allison Jones | Slalom standing | 1:30.14 | 1:30.14 | |
| Allison Jones | Super-G standing | 1:26.04 | 1:19.39 | 4 |
| Hannah Pennington | Giant slalom standing | 2:30.68 | 2:20.80 | 19 |
| Hannah Pennington | Slalom standing | 2:03.23 | 1:49.35 | 16 |
| Laurie Stephens | Downhill sitting | 1:46.86 | 1:29.96 | |
| Laurie Stephens | Giant slalom sitting | 2:25.95 | 2:05.11 | |
| Laurie Stephens | Slalom sitting | 2:26.64 | 1:54.89 | 7 |
| Laurie Stephens | Super-G sitting | 1:33.88 | 1:19.16 | |
| Elitsa Storey | Downhill standing | 1:42.69 | 1:37.17 | 9 |
| Elitsa Storey | Giant slalom standing | 2:22.08 | 2:10.49 | 7 |
| Elitsa Storey | Slalom standing | 1:37.33 | 1:37.33 | 6 |
| Elitsa Storey | Super-G standing | 1:27.22 | 1:20.48 | 7 |
| Stephani Victor | Downhill sitting | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| Stephani Victor | Giant slalom sitting | 2:32.94 | 2:12.63 | 4 |
| Stephani Victor | Slalom sitting | 2:16.69 | 1:48.54 | |
| Stephani Victor | Super-G sitting | 1:37.80 | 1:23.44 | 4 |

Key: DNF=Did not finish; DNS=Did not start

## Biathlon

The U.S. Paralympic biathlon team consisted of two women and one man. All three of these athletes also competed in cross-country skiing events at the Games. The highest placed finisher was Kelly Underkofler, who took fourth in the women's 12.5 km standing event.

| Athlete | Events | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Events | Real time | Missed shots | Factor % | Finish time | Rank |
| Monica Bascio | Women's 7.5 km sitski | 36:46.7 | 4 | 94 | 34:34.3 | 6 |
| Monica Bascio | Women's 10 km sitski | 43:37.7 | 10 | 94 | 51:00.6 | 5 |
| Daniel Perkins | Men's 7.5 km standing | 29:46.1 | 8 | 96 | 28:34.6 | 20 |
| Daniel Perkins | Men's 12.5 km standing | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF |
| Kelly Underkofler | Women's 7.5 km standing | 29:42.3 | 2 | 97 | 28:48.9 | 7 |
| Kelly Underkofler | Women's 12.5 km standing | 48:36.8 | 6 | 97 | 53:09.3 | 4 |

## Cross-country skiing

Nordic skiing: 3 women, 6 men

Women:

* Monica Bascio (36, Evergreen, Colorado)
* Candace Cable (51, Truckee, California)
* Kelly Underkofler (21, St. Paul, Minnesota/Frisco, Colorado)

Men:

* Bob Balk (40, Long Beach, California)
* Steven Cook (37, Salt Lake City)
* Mike Crenshaw (51, Boulder, Colorado)
* Chris Klebl (34, Heber City, Utah)
* Greg Mallory (37, Portland, Oregon)
* Dan Perkins (47, Syracuse, New York)

## Ice sledge hockey

Ice sledge hockey: 15 men

* Steven Cash (16, Overland, Missouri)
* Taylor Chace (19, Hampton Falls, New Hampshire)
* Dave Conklin (50, La Crosse, Wisconsin)
* James Connelly (16, Galloway, New Jersey)
* Brad Emmerson (20, Amherst, New York)
* Manuel Guerra, Jr (38, Plymouth, Minnesota)
* Michael Hallman (16, Hatboro, Pennsylvania)
* Lonnie Hannah II (42, Mansfield, Texas)
* Joseph Howard (39, Kingston, Massachusetts)
* Tim Jones (18, Mount Ephraim, New Jersey)
* Andrew Lipsett (19, Mesquite, Texas)
* Christopher Manns (25, Buffalo, New York)
* Alexi Salamone (18, Grand Island, New York)
* Kip St. Germaine (40, East Falmouth, Massachusetts)
* Andy Yohe (27, Bettendorf, Iowa)

## Wheelchair curling

Wheelchair curling: 1 woman, 4 men

Women:

* Danell Libby (37, Chatham, New York)

Men:

* James Joseph (44, New Hartford, New York)
* Augusto Perez (33, East Syracuse, New York)
* Jim Pierce (43, North Syracuse, New York)
* Wes Smith (65, Glenburn, Maine)

The youngest member of the 2006 United States Paralympic Team was James Connelly (ice sledge hockey; bronze), at the age of 16 years and 4 months. He was a rookie defenseman on the bronze medal-winning ice sledge hockey team, making him the United States' youngest winter medal-holding Paralympian in history.

