Olympic passion."Passion lives here" was the slogan of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. There was plenty of passion to be seen--and maybe sometimes a little too much. The United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. ski team blew into town boastfully challenging the Austrians to see who was best. Final tally of skiing medals: Austria 14, U.S. 2. Fortunately, Americans shone brightly in other events. Long-track speed skater Joey Cheek William Joseph Cheek (born June 22 1979 in Greensboro, North Carolina) is an American speed skater and former inline speed skater. He specializes in the short and middle distances. Cheek's breakthrough was in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. donated his bonus money for winning gold and silver medals to Right to Play, an organization that helps children in disadvantaged places of the world. Shani Davis Shani Davis (born August 13, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American speed skater who competes in both short track and long track speed skating. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Davis became the first black athlete to win a gold medal in an individual sport (1,000-m) and the became the first African-American to win gold in an individual event in the Winter Games
Snowboarding was the event in which the U.S. team truly dominated. Americans went for the 1-2 punch in both the men's and women's halfpipe half·pipe or half pipe n. A smooth-surfaced structure shaped like a trough and used for stunts in sports such as in-line skating and snowboarding. . Hannah Teter won the women's event, while the men's went to Shaun White, known as the Flying Tomato for his long, fiery red hair. Overall, Germany won the most medals at 29 (see graph). Despite some disappointments the U.S. came in second. Next stop for Olympic athletes: Beijing, China, for the 2008 Summer Games. Then it's on to Vancouver, Canada, for the Winter Games in 2010. News Graph Winter Olympics Medals Count, 2006 Top 5 Countries Country Gold Silver Bronze TOTAL Germany 11 12 6 29 United States 9 9 7 25 Canada 7 10 7 24 Austria 9 7 7 23 Russia 8 6 8 22 |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion