Cheek (Greensboro, N.C.) not only won a gold medal in the 500m but announced that he would donate his gold earnings to a charity called Right to Play.  The organization assists impoverished nations with the ability to participate in sports.  On top of his gold medal, he also won silver in the 1000m, again donating his winnings to Right to Play.  His two medals give him a complete set with his bronze medal from the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

Mancuso (Olympic Valley, Calif.) won gold in the giant slalom after leading both runs at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.  It was her second trip to the Games and her first medal.  Mancuso's win was the first gold medal won by the women's alpine team in the giant slalom since 1984. 

Belbin (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) and Agosto (Chicago, Ill.) became the highest placing U.S. Ice Dancing Team in Olympic history and are the first to medal at the Olympic Winter Games in 30 years.  Finding themselves in sixth place following the compulsory dance, they ended less than five points away from the gold medal after finishing second in the original dance.  This marked the first Olympic experience for the pair, while all of their competitors in the top eight were making their second or third Olympic appearances.

Second place for the women went to figure skater Sasha Cohen (Laguna Niguel, Calif.).  Cohen ended her second Olympic Winter Games with a silver medal.  After finishing first in the short program with a score of 66.73, she finished less than eight points away from the gold medal after the free skate, placing second among 29 ladies.

USA Judo's Ronda Rousey (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) was third.  Rousey went undefeated in seven matches to win gold at the Belgian Ladies Open Feb. 3-4, the first major event of the 2006 European season.  This marks the first major senior European medal for the 19-year-old and the best finish for an American on the tour this year.  Rousey upset Marie-Helene Chishold (CAN), a fifth place finisher at both the 2004 Olympic Games and 2005 World Championships as well as Alice Schlesinger (ISR), one of Rousey's top rivals who defeated her at last year's World Championships. 

Second place for the men's ballot went to snowboarder Seth Wescott (Farmington, Maine).  Wescott made Olympic Winter Games history as he won the first gold medal in men's snowboardcross during the inaugural event.  It has been a goal of his to win a medal in the sport since the announcement that the snowboardcross would be an official Olympic Winter Games event in early 2003.

Short track speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno (Seattle, Wash.) finished in third place for the men's vote.  Ohno set a record by being the first U.S. short track speedskater to win two individual medals and a team medal at an Olympic Winter Games.  His bronze medal in the 1000m, gold medal in the 500m and bronze medal in the 5000m, relay plus the two he won in Salt Lake in 2002, gives him a total of five, matching Eric Heiden's Olympic Winter Games record for total medals.
 
Bobsledders Shauna Rohbock (Provo, Utah) and Valerie Fleming (San Francisco, Calif.) finished second among the team voting.  Rohbock and Fleming captured the only medal for the sliding sports when they took silver at the Olympic Winter Games.  They were in third after the first day of competition but overtook second the next day to secure the silver medal for the U.S.

Pete Fenson's rink (Bemidji, Minn.) was third place in the team vote.  Pete Fenson's Team USA won the bronze medal in curling at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games with a 9-8 win over Great Britain.  It was the first medal of any kind for a U.S. curling team at the Olympic Winter Games.  Fenson's Team finished with a 7-5 record overall. 

Results (first place votes in parentheses)

Women
1. Julia Mancuso 61 (20)
2. Sasha Cohen 38 (4)
3. Ronda Rousey 13 (1)
Also receiving first-place votes: Katie Uhlaender (Skeleton), Margie Engle (Equestrian)

Men
1. Joey Cheek 52 (13)
2. Seth Wescott 31 (4)
3. Apolo Anton Ohno 30 (3)
Also receiving first-place votes: Michael Phelps (Swimming), Floyd Landis (Cycling), Hunter Kemper (Triathlon), Ryan Reser (Judo)

Team
1. Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto 49 (11)
2. Shauna Rohbock & Valerie Fleming 33 (4)
3. Pete Fenson rink 26 (6)
Also receiving first-place votes: Men's 4x400m relay team (Track and Field), Women's Ice Hockey

For more information, please contact the USOC Media & Public Relations Division at
(719) 866-4529.