Meissner "fought mightily" to keep her balance out of the last rotation of her triple Axel, but her landing was secure and she ended up in third place, her first senior-level medal. She successfully completed seven triples, including two Lutz jumps and a triple toe-double toe-double loop combination. Her technical scores ranged from 5.7 to 5.9 and her presentation scores ranged from 5.4 to 5.7, putting her in third place in the free skate, and third place overall. E. M. Swift from "Sports Illustrated" reported that Meissner earned the biggest response from the spectators and diverted attention away from Kwan. He also stated that Meissner was able to "breathe fresh air into a sport that had begun to stagnate in the U.S. and offer a peek into the future of American skating". Meissner was not age-eligible to compete as a senior at the Worlds Championships, but was named to the U.S. team for the 2005 Junior Worlds Championships. Meissner told reporters that she was not disappointed and was excited to compete at Junior Worlds, but Gregory stated that it could have given Meissner valuable experience and prepared her for the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy. ESPN, however, sent Meissner to Worlds in Moscow "on assignment", for a special in which she appeared with Olympians Peggy Fleming and Paul Wylie.