Meissner (Bel Air, Md.) won the world title in her first year at the World Figure Skating Championships. She was the only lady to land a triple-triple combination in the free skate, eventually landing two of them. Her technical elements score of 69.47 in the free skate was one of the highest in history and nearly 10 points higher than the second place score. Her total score for the free skate was the third best in history and more than four points higher than that of this year's Olympic gold medalist. She beat 43 other skaters from 33 different countries.

A four-time Paralympian, the 37-year-old Cook (Salt Lake City, Utah) took home one-fourth of the 12 medals the U.S. earned at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games. He won a gold medal in the men's 5km freestyle, another gold medal in the men's 10km classic and a bronze medal in the men's 20km classic.

The U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team earned a place in the bronze-medal match against Team Germany at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games. After battling a 3-3 tie for most of the game, Team USA's Taylor Chace (Hampton Falls, N.H.) knocked a rebound into the open side of the net midway through the third period giving the U.S. a 4-3 win and the bronze medal.

Second place for the women went to World Cup champion and disabled skier Laurie Stephens (Wehham, Mass.).  Stephens became a Paralympic all-star this March, leaving the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games as one of the most decorated athletes. She earned two golds and one silver, medaling in almost every alpine event. Her first gold came on March 12 in downhill. She won the second gold in the super G, as she took the lead by more than three seconds. Her third and final medal, a silver, was won in the giant slalom.

USA Taekwondo's Mandy Meloon (Sugar Land, Texas) was third. Meloon defeated two world champions en route to the gold medal in the female finweight division at the 33rd Dutch Open in Eindhoven, Holland, March 18. She bested a field of 29 fighters, defeating 2005 World Champion Belen Asensio of Spain, 4-3, in the semifinals and 2001 World Champion Kadriye Selimoglu of Turkey, 7-3, in the finals. 

Second place for the men's ballot went to skier Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, Vt.).  Newell made U.S. history as he grabbed the first cross-country podium in 23 years. He placed third behind 2006 Olympic bronze medalist Thobi Fredriksson of Sweden, in the World Cup debut March 15, in the Changchun, China 1km freestyle sprint. The last time the U.S. saw a cross-country athlete on the podium was March 19, 1983 when Tim Caldwell and Bill Koch took second and third in a 30km race.

Cyclist Floyd Landis (Murrieta, Calif.) finished in third place for the men's vote.  Landis won the 63rd Annual Paris-Nice race March 5-12, in France. Landis took the lead in the General Classification following the 168.5km trek from Julienas to Saint-Etienne in stage three. With the assistance of his Phonak teammates, Landis claimed a slim nine-second lead, which he defended from stage three through stage seven. Landis completed the seven-day stage race in 31 hours, 54 minutes and 41 seconds. Landis' win makes him the first leader of the 2006 Union Cycliste Internationale Pro Tour.
 
Figure skating ice dancers Tanith Belbin (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) and Ben Agosto (Chicago, Ill.) finished second among the team voting.  Belbin and Agosto earned a bronze medal, and have now won back-to-back medals at the World Championships (they won silver in 2005). They are the first U.S. ice dancing team to win back-to-back world medals in more than 20 years. They beat 28 other teams from 21 different countries. With their third place finish, and another U.S. dance team placing ninth, they succeeded in securing the U.S. three ice dancing spots at the subsequent World Championships for the second year in a row.

Debbie McCormick's rink (Madison, Wis.) was third place in the team vote.  After winning the U.S. World Team Trials on March 4, McCormick, a 2002 Olympian, and her team began competition six days later at the 2006 World Women's Curling Championship in Grande Prairie, Alberta. The team finished the round robin with a 10-1 record, and earned their way to the gold-medal game against Sweden, losing 10-9 to the 2006 Olympic champions. McCormick's rink finished the event with an 11-3 record and a silver medal in its first year playing together.

Results (first place votes in parentheses)
Women
1. Kimmie Meissner 44 (12)
2. Laurie Stephens 32 (5)
3. Mandy Meloon 11 (0)
Also receiving first-place votes: Margie Engle (Equestrian)

Men
1. Steve Cook 26 (5)
2. Andy Newell 17 (3)
3. Floyd Landis 15 (4)
Also receiving first-place votes: Jonathan Horton (Gymnastics), Mo Lawal (Freestyle Wrestling), Mark Lopez (Taekwondo), Ryan Reser (Judo)

Team
1. U.S. Sled Hockey 29 (5)
2. Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto 26 (5)
3. Debbie McCormick rink 25 (3)
Also receiving first-place votes: 2006 Senior National Team (Taekwondo)

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