Latvian biathlete Ilmars Bricis lost his chance for a World Cup medal last week after two mistakes during the Mass Start event. The World Cup medalist finished seventh in the men's 15-kilometer Mass Start and 16th overall at the championship held in Holmenkollen, Norway. Bricis was in second place after the first standing shoot, and stayed among the leaders for the next two targets. But at the final target, the Latvian missed twice, ruining any chances he had to finish among the top. Ole-Einar Bjoerndalen of Norway won the competition.
IndyCar driver Paul Dana died after his vehicle collided with another car during a practice session on March 26. Dana, 30, crashed into a car driven by Ed Carpenter at about 200 miles per hour after Carpenter had spun, hit the wall and nearly come to a complete stop. Both drivers were hospitalized immediately. Dana died of massive trauma injuries, while Carpenter suffered minor injuries.
America's youngest skating star, Kimmie Meissner (photo), took gold at the 2006 World Figure Skating Championships last week, skating a near-perfect program that included two triple-triple combination jumps. The 16-year-old performed her personal best, with a final score of 218.33. "I was very, very, very, happy," Meissner said. "It definitely felt like my personal best. It felt like I blew all my other programs out of the water." Fellow American Sasha Cohen had a disappointing free skate but pulled through to win the bronze. Fumie Suguri of Japan took second at the World Championship in Calgary, Canada.
Latvian judo fighter Vsevolods Zelonijs won a World Cup bronze medal last week in the 73-kilogram category. Zelonijs beat Sweden's Stefan Gotner in the first round, and then Austrian Kristof Shtangle and Jao Pin from Portugal. During the semi-finals, Zelonij lost to Romania's Kostel Danchulea, who ended up winning this World Cup event.
Six of 14 Sierra Leonean athletes who went missing from the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne were found in a Sydney beachside house. Nineteen athletes remained missing on March 27. The three men and three women found are currently waiting for their visas. The Games visas given to athletes do not expire for another month, but Australia revoked the special visas of the 14 athletes, making them illegal immigrants.
