I don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier, but I just didn’t. I should have covered the 2006 Turin Paralympics after the Olympics. I’m sure many of you would have been interested. To make up for my negligence, here’s a bit of a recap.

The Russian Federation won the overall medal count with 33. Germany, Ukraine and France finished second, third and fourth. America finished fifth with 15 medals, including 7 golds. The U.S. paralympic alpine team contributed eight medals.
Notable medals include:

American Stephani Victor won gold in the Downhill slalom sitting. Stephani is relatively new to Paralympics. After a double amputation in 1995, she became aware of the Paralympics in 1999 and made it her goal to participate in the 2002 Paralympic Games. She has been featured on many national television programs, including 20/20, The View, ESPN and more.

Kevin Bramble won gold in the downhill sitting. Kevin was paralyzed from the waist down at the age of 21 in a snowboarding accident. In Turin, he was defending the gold he won at the Salt Lake City Paralympics in 2002.

Steven Cook brought home several medals, two gold and one bronze, in cross country skiing. Steven has been competing in the Paralympics since 1998. He lost his right leg below the knee in a 1988 farm accident.

Here’s to all the athletes, from America and the rest of the world who participated in the 2006 Paralympic Games.