United States at the 2010 Winter Paralympics
Introduction The '''United States''' sent a delegation to compete at the '''2010 Winter Paralympics''' in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A total of 50 U.S. competitors took part in all five sports. The American delegation included five former members of the U.S. military, including a veteran of the Iraq War (Heath Calhoun) and a veteran of the War in Afghanistan (Andy Soule).The United States finished sixth in the gold medal and fifth in the total medal count. U.S. coverage of the 2010 Paralympic Games was provided primarily by the Universal Sports Television Network.
Disability classifications Every participant at the Paralympics had their disability grouped into one of five disability categories; amputation, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; Les autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism or multiple sclerosis. Each Paralympic sport then had its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events were given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Events with "B" in the code were for athletes with visual impairment, codes LW1 to LW9 were for athletes who stood to compete, and LW10 to LW12 were for athletes who competed sitting down. In biathlon events, which contained a target shooting component, blind and visually impaired athletes were able to compete through the use of acoustic signals, whose signal intensity varied dependent upon whether or not the athlete was on target.
Medalists The following American athletes won medals at the games; all dates are for March 2010.In the 'by discipline' sections below, medalists' names are in '''bold'''. Medal Name Sport Event Date     Alpine skiing  Women's downhill, sitting  March 18     Alpine skiing  Women's giant slalom, sitting  March 16      Alpine skiing  Women's super combined, sitting  March 20   United States national ice sledge hockey team Ice sledge hockey  Ice sledge hockey  March 20   Guide: Slater Storey  Alpine skiing  Men's downhill, visually impaired  March 18     Alpine skiing  Women's super-G, sitting  March 19     Alpine skiing  Women's downhill, sitting  March 18     Alpine skiing  Women's slalom, sitting  March 14     Alpine skiing  Women's giant slalom, sitting  March 16     Alpine skiing  Women's super combined, sitting  March 20     Alpine skiing  Women's downhill, visually impaired  March 18   Guide: Rob Umstead  Alpine skiing  Women's super combined, visually impaired  March 20     Biathlon  Men's 2.4 km pursuit, sitting  March 13+ '''Medals by sport''''''Sport''' Image:Gold medal icon.svg Image:Silver medal icon.svg Image:Bronze medal icon.svg'''Total''' Alpine skiing  3  5  3  11 Biathlon  0  0  1  1 Cross-country skiing  0  0  0  0 Ice sledge hockey  1  0  0  1 Wheelchair curling  0  0  0  0+ '''Multiple medalists''''''Name''''''Sport''' Image:Gold medal icon.svg Image:Silver medal icon.svg Image:Bronze medal icon.svg'''Total''' Alana Nichols Alpine skiing 2 1 1 4 Stephani Victor Alpine skiing 1 2 0 3 Danelle Umstead Alpine skiing 0 0 2 2Heath Calhoun carrying the U.S. flag at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on March 12, 2010
Alpine skiing On February 26, 2010, U.S. Paralympics nominated a team of 14 men and 10 women (plus three guides) to compete in alpine skiing. ;MenAthleteEventClassRun 1Run 2Final/TotalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRank'''Mark Bathum'''Guide: Slater StoreyDownhill, visually impairedB 3N/A1:18.63Giant slalom, visually impairedB 3DisqualifiedSlalom, visually impairedB 353.0491:17.41112:10.4511Super combined, visually impairedB 3''Super-G'' Did not finishSuper-G, visually impairedB 3N/A1:23.054Carl BurnettGiant slalom, sittingLW 111:27.05161:29.40152:56.4514Slalom, sittingLW 1153.991859.2891:53.279Super combined, sittingLW 11''Super-G'' 1:37.9515''Slalom'' 53.1082:31.0512Super-G, sittingLW 11N/Adid not finishHeath CalhounSlalom, sittingLW 12–2did not finishSuper-G, sittingLW 12–2N/A1:24.778Super combined, sittingLW 12–2''Super-G'' 1:23.664''Slalom'' 55.33112:18.9910Nicholas CatanzariteGiant slalom, sittingLW 10–11:50.92341:46.76233:37.6823Super-G, sittingLW 10–1N/Adid not finishChristopher Devlin-YoungDownhill, sittingLW 12–1N/A1:22.6513Giant slalom, sittingLW 12–11:24.9612did not finishSlalom, sittingLW 12–154.0519did not finishSuper combined, sittingLW 12–1''Super-G'' 1:24.016''Slalom'' 52.7072:16.717Super-G, sittingLW 12–1N/A1:21.004Ralph GreenGiant slalom, standingLW 21:23.97301:24.99292:48.9629Slalom, standingLW 258.112258.67241:56.7822Super-G, standingLW 2N/ADisqualifiedGerald HaydenGiant slalom, sittingLW 12–11:27.3218did not finishSlalom, sittingLW 12–150.6181:06.43221:57.0416Ian JansingGiant slalom, standingLW 9–21:23.49281:29.30342:52.7932Monte MeierDownhill, standingLW 2N/A1:28.4822Slalom, standingLW 255.311053.9841:49.298Super combined, standingLW 2''Super-G'' 1:33.0716''Slalom'' 51.1372:24.2014Super-G, standingLW 2N/A1:31.9127George SansonetisDownhill, standingLW 9–2N/A1:28.4721Giant slalom, standingLW 9–21:22.94261:22.48262:45.4227Slalom, standingLW 9–2DisqualifiedSuper-G, standingLW 9–2N/A1:35.7431Joseph TompkinsDownhill, sittingLW 11N/Adid not finishTyler WalkerDownhill, sittingLW 12–1N/Adid not finishGiant slalom, sittingLW 12–11:27.07171:35.49183:02.5616Slalom, sittingLW 12–153.24141:00.10131:53.3410Super-G, sittingLW 12–1N/A1:29.2822Bradley WashburnDownhill, standingLW 4N/A1:26.4014Giant slalom, standingLW 41:16.97171:17.88162:34.8516Slalom, standingLW 454.82854.79101:49.619Super-G, standingLW 4N/A1:27.9317John WhitneyGiant slalom, standingLW 21:23.67291:23.50282:47.1728Slalom, standingLW 259.612757.68221:57.2923Super-G, standingLW 2N/A1:32.9728;WomenAthleteEventClassRun 1Run 2Final/TotalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankAllison JonesDownhill, standingLW 2N/A1:32.326Giant slalom, standingLW 21:23.0771:29.19132:52.269Slalom, standingLW 21:01.1271:00.0742:01.195Super combined, standingLW 2''Super-G'' 1:38.078''Slalom'' 58.6622:36.735Super-G, standingLW 2N/A1:38.849Ricci KilgoreGiant slalom, sittingLW 12–11:40.4791:36.9773:17.446Slalom, sittingLW 12–11:18.648DisqualifiedLuba LoweryGiant slalom, sittingLW 12–21:41.06101:45.2493:26.309Slalom, sittingLW 12–21:20.4891:23.0182:43.497'''Alana Nichols'''Downhill, sittingLW 11N/A1:23.31Giant slalom, sittingLW 111:28.0411:29.5312:57.57Slalom, sittingLW 111:31.07111:15.3452:46.418Super combined, sittingLW 11''Super-G'' 1:40.582''Slalom'' 1:06.9652:47.54Super-G, sittingLW 11N/A1:36.68Hannah PenningtonGiant slalom, standingLW 3–21:40.82161:37.58153:18.4015Slalom, standingLW 3–21:12.93171:11.31162:24.2416Caitlyn SarubbiGuide: Gwynn WatkinsDownhill, visually impairedB 3N/Adid not finishGiant slalom, visually impairedB 3''Super-G'' 1:44.5710''Slalom'' 1:39.0563:23.626Slalom, visually impairedB 31:05.107did not finish –Super combined, visually impairedB 31:57.5361:04.4943:02.026Super-G, visually impairedB 3N/A1:50.338'''Laurie Stephens'''Downhill, sittingLW 12–1N/A1:28.26Giant slalom, sittingLW 12–11:34.5641:34.6053:09.165Slalom, sittingLW 12–11:09.9661:18.9362:28.895Super combined, sittingLW 12–1''Super-G'' 1:46.795''Slalom'' 1:06.2232:53.015Super-G, sittingLW 12–1N/A1:38.384Elitsa StoreyDownhill, standingLW 2N/Adid not startGiant slalom, standingLW 2did not finishSlalom, standingLW 21:09.7615did not start'''Danelle Umstead'''Guide: Rob UmsteadDownhill, visually impairedB 2N/A1:30.18Giant slalom, visually impairedB 21:37.9072:03.7483:41.648Slalom, visually ImpairedB 2did not finishSuper combined, visually impairedB 2''Super-G'' 1:41.703''Slalom'' 1:07.0562:48.75Super-G, visually impairedB 2N/A1:40.624'''Stephani Victor'''Downhill, sittingLW 12–2N/A1:36.994Giant slalom, sittingLW 12–21:29.4921:32.2933:01.78Slalom, sittingLW 12–21:04.5711:08.0622:12.63Super combined, sittingLW 12–2''Super-G'' 1:38.461''Slalom'' 1:02.2512:40.71Super-G, sittingLW 12–2N/A1:40.366Andy Soule, wins bronze in biathlon, Men's 2.4 km Pursuit.
Biathlon Two U.S. competitors participated in the biathlon. Both are also members of the U.S. cross-country skiing team. Andy Soule, a veteran of the War in Afghanistan, won the bronze medal in men's 2.4 km sitting pursuit on the opening day of the Paralympics, becoming the first American to win a biathlon medal in the either the Olympic or the Paralympic Winter Games.AthleteEventsClassFactor %QualificationFinalCalculated timeMissed shotsResultRankCalculated timeMissed shotsResultRank '''Andy Soule'''Men's 2.4 km Pursuit, sitting LW12 100 8:38.48 0+0 8:38.48 3 '''Q''' 1+0 10:53.01 Men's 12.4 km, sitting LW12 100 N/A 44:26.2 0+0+0+0 44:26.2 4 Kelly UnderkoflerWomen's 3km Pursuit, standing LW8 97 11:40.43 1+0 12:00.43 8 '''Q''' 1+0 14:39.00  9Women's 12.5 km, standing LW8 97 N/A 49:44.1 1+1+0+0 51:44.1 9
Cross-country skiing The cross-country skiing team consists of four men and two women. Two of the skiers, Andy Soule and Kelly Underkofler, will also be competing in the biathlon. ;Calculated timeTo ensure a fair event when athletes with differing disabilities compete, times achieved were sometimes modified by a percentage rate, to produce a result known as "Calculated Time". It is this time that decided the result of the races, and is listed below. Where this differs from the real time recorded, real time is also listed. ; MenAthleteEventsClassFactor %QualificationSemifinalFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankSean Halsted1 km sprint sittingLW11.598CT: 2:18.72RT: 2:21.5510did not advance1010km sittingLW11.5N/ACT: 28:35.8RT: 29:10.8715km sittingLW11.5N/ACT: 43:25.6RT: 44:18.89Chris Klebl1 km sprint sittingLW1194CT: 2:18.39RT: 2:27.229did not advance910km sittingLW11N/ACT: 29:39.7RT: 31:33.31615km sittingLW11N/ACT: 43:13.7RT: 45:59.38Greg Mallory1 km sprint sittingLW1194CT: 2:21.89RT: 2:30.9518did not advance1810km sittingLW11N/ACT: 30:35.3RT: 32:32.42415km sittingLW11N/ACT: 46:30.6RT: 46:30.626Andy Soule1 km sprint sittingLW121002:19.7711did not advance1110km sittingLW12N/A29:18.71215km sittingLW12N/A43:32.810; WomenAthleteEventsClassFactor %QualificationSemifinalFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankMonica Bascio1 km sprint sittingLW1194CT: 2:43.73RT: 2:54.188 '''Q'''CT: 2:56.90RT: 3:08.194did not advance85km sittingLW11N/ACT: 16:32.4RT: 17:35.71010km sittingLW11N/ACT: 34:33.9RT: 36:46.39Kelly Underkofler1 km sprint classic standingLW892CT: 4:51.17RT: 5:16.49did not advance135km classic standingLW8N/ACT: 18:37.2RT: 20:14.31015km free standingLW8N/ACT: 58:19.6RT: 1:00:07.88;Key:*RT = real time*CT = calculated time
Ice sledge hockey Team USA in a face-off against Team Japan during pool play on March 16, 2010.The U.S. qualified for sledge hockey (also known as sled hockey) at the 2010 Paralympics by winning the 2009 IPC Ice Sledge Hockey World Championships. USA Hockey nominated the 15-member sledge hockey team on December 15, 2009, pending approval by the United States Olympic Committee. With a win over Japan in the gold medal game on March 20, 2010, the U.S. captured its second-ever gold medal in the sport. The team did not allow a goal in the tournament, outscoring its opponents by a total of 19 to 0.Alexi Salamone, born with deformed legs due to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and later adopted by an American family, was the leading scorer for the U.S. with four goals and eight points in five games.Squad listGroup stage ''(Pool A)''SemifinalFinalOppositionResultRankOppositionResultOppositionResultRank''From:'''''Mike Blabac''''''Steve Cash''''''Taylor Chace''''''Jimmy Connelly''''''Brad Emmerson''''''Joseph Howard''''''Tim Jones''''''Nikko Landeros''''''Taylor Lipsett''''''Adam Page''''''Josh Pauls''''''Alexi Salamone''''''Greg Shaw''''''Bubba Torres''''''Andy Yohe''' (captain)'''Head coach:''' Ray Maluta'''W''' 5–01 '''Q''''''W''' 3–0'''W''' 2–0'''W''' 3–0'''W''' 6–0
Wheelchair curling Above, the U.S. competes against Sweden in the bronze medal game while below, South Korea competes against Canada in the gold medal game.The U.S. team qualified for the 2010 Paralympic wheelchair curling tournament based on their performance in the 2007, 2008, and 2009 World Wheelchair Curling Championships. After two straight losses in the playoff round, the team finished in fourth place.===Team===The team is as follows:'''Skip:''' Augusto Perez'''Third:''' Patrick McDonald'''Second:''' James Pierce '''Lead:''' Jacqui Kapinowski'''Alternate:''' ''James Joseph'''''Coach:''' Steve Brown===Standings===CountrySkipWL     7  2      7  2      6  3     5  4          5  4    3  6     3  6     3  6     3  6     3  6 ===Round robin results===The United States finished with a 7–2 win–loss record, in second place.===Semifinals======Bronze medal game===
Media coverage U.S. coverage of the 2010 Paralympic Games was provided primarily by the Universal Sports Television Network. A nightly two-hour show covering daily competition was broadcast from March 15–23, and on-demand replays were offered on UniversalSports.com. Daily video highlights were also available at the official website of the U.S. Paralympic Team,  usparalympics.org. NBC showed a one-hour program covering the Opening Ceremony on March 13, and will show a two-hour highlights program on April 10.
See also *United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics
References
External links * Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games official website* International Paralympic Committee official website* United States Paralympic Committee official website