\n\t\t\t\tThe women\u2019s singles podium, which features, from left, Team USA\u2019s Ashley Farqharson, Germany\u2019s Julia Taubitz and Team USA\u2019s Summer Britcher, smiles shortly after their FIL Luge World Cup race in Lake Placid on Dec. 19.
\n(News photo \u2014 Parker O\u2019Brien)\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Luge1-1100x733.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The women\u2019s singles podium, which features, from left, Team USA\u2019s Ashley Farqharson, Germany\u2019s Julia Taubitz and Team USA\u2019s Summer Britcher, smiles shortly after their FIL Luge World Cup race in Lake Placid on Dec. 19.
\n(News photo \u2014 Parker O\u2019Brien)<\/p>\n
\tLAKE PLACID \u2014 With the Olympics looming, the United States Luge Team put together another great performance in the FIL World Cup racing on its home ice, this time at Mount Van Hoevenberg.<\/p>\n
\tIn four races held here on Dec. 19 and 20, the U.S. sliders earned four medals \u2014 a gold, one silver and two bronzes \u2014 and combined for eight other top 10 finishes at the last World Cup tour stop before the holiday break.<\/p>\n
\tThe young men\u2019s doubles team of Ansel Haugsjaa and Marcus Mueller was the top U.S. medal winners, highlighting the competition on Dec. 20 with a first-place finish. Meanwhile, the women\u2019s duo of Sophia Kirkby and Chevonne Forgan placed third in their doubles race.<\/p>\n
\tOn Dec. 19 evening, Ashley Farquharson claimed her second career World Cup medal, earning a silver in the women\u2019s singles event. Teammate Summer Britcher, who won gold in the women\u2019s singles World Cup last week, placed third.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Luge2-1-1100x733.jpg\")
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USA Luge\u2019s Jonny Gustafson gets ready before a run during the mixed singles event on Dec. 20 in Lake Placid.
\n(News photo \u2014 Chris Gaige)<\/p>\n
Men\u2019s doubles<\/p>\n
\u2013<\/p>\n
\tAfter turning in a disappointing result at the Park City World Cup last week, the American doubles team of Mueller, of Brookfield, Wisconsin, and Haugsjaa, of Framingham, Massachusetts, knew something had to change.<\/p>\n
\t\u201c(That race) really, I think, got the fire lit under us to really lock in for this (one),\u201d Mueller said. \u201cWe had a really set game plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAnd the youngest doubles team on Team USA executed it to near perfection, securing its first-ever World Cup medal in a two-run time of 1 minute, 27.509 seconds.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Luge4-1100x733.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The women\u2019s doubles podium, which includes, from left, Germany\u2019s Magdalena Matschina and Dajana Eitberger, Austria\u2019s Lara Kipp and Selina Egle and Team USA\u2019s Sophia Kirkby and Chevonne Forgan smiles shortly after their race at the FIL Luge World Cup in Lake Placid on Dec. 20.
\n(News photo \u2014 Parker O\u2019Brien)<\/p>\n
\tThe duo led the field after the first run, but felt some immediate pressure ahead of the second when Latvia\u2019s Martins Bots and Roberts Plume put down the fastest run of the day.<\/p>\n
\tThe American team got off to a bit of a shaky start, according to Haugsjaa.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI personally made a small mistake, and I bet it on the start, and I think it cost us a little time, but a lot of this sport is being able to put those little mistakes behind you,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s still so much run yet to come. So you just have to put it out of your mind and focus on what\u2019s ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tMueller and Haugsjaa had at one point fallen behind on time, but the duo found some speed around the Labrynth area of the track to edge out the Latvian by 0.058 seconds.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cJust knowing we had the rest of the track ahead of us \u2014 (even though) it was a little sloppy near the chicanes area \u2014 we got it back,\u201d Mueller said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Luge6-1100x647.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
USA Luge\u2019s Ashley Farquharson slides through the Shady curve during the mixed singles relay event at the FIL Luge World Cup in Lake Placid on Dec. 20.
\n(News photo \u2014 Parker O\u2019Brien)<\/p>\n
\tBots and Plume with placed second in 1:27.567, while Austria\u2019s Yannick Mueller and Armin Frauscher were third in 1:27.649.<\/p>\n
\tU.S. teammates Zack DiGregorio of Medway, Massachusetts and Sean Hollander of Lake Placid, who had won silver in Park City last week and won gold in this event the last time it was held here, placed ninth with a time of 1:27.937. Dana Kellogg of Chesterfield, Massachusetts and Frank Ike of Lititz, Pennsylvania, finished 10th in 1:27.987.<\/p>\n
\tWith the Olympic Winter Games set for February, each nation is allocated two men\u2019s doubles teams, if all criteria are met.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt definitely sets us up pretty good for qualified points for the Olympics and everything,\u201d Mueller said. \u201cI think we\u2019re just gonna take this \u2014 especially as a learning experience \u2014 and keep putting our best foot forward and keep staying focused for these runs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tGermany\u2019s Toni Eggert and Florian Mueller lead the World Cup standings with 210 points. Juri Gatt and Riccardo Schoepf of Austria are second with 202 points, and Bots and Plume are third with 195.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Luge5-1100x733.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Friends and family members of USA Luge\u2019s Jonny Gustafson cheer him on during the FIL Luge World Cup men\u2019s singles race in Lake Placid on Dec. 20.
\n(News photo \u2014 Parker O\u2019Brien)<\/p>\n
\tFor the U.S., which didn\u2019t compete in the first World Cup of the season as it didn\u2019t count toward Olympic qualifications, Mueller and Haugsjaa are seventh with 136. DiGregorio and Hollander are ninth with 124 and the duo of Kellogg and Ike are 20th with 68.<\/p>\n
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Women\u2019s doubles<\/p>\n
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\tUSA Luge\u2019s top women\u2019s doubles team of Forgan of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and Kirkby of Ray Brook, who finished last season third overall in the FIL World Cup standings, proved once again that they can slide with the world\u2019s best.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Luge3-1054x840.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Team USA\u2019s Emily Fischnaller gets ready to start her first run of the women\u2019s singles race during the FIL Luge World Cup in Lake Placid on Dec. 19.
\n(News photo \u2014 Parker O\u2019Brien)<\/p>\n
\tThe duo was just off the podium after the opening heat \u2014 in fourth place \u2014 but rallied on their second run to secure the bronze medal in 1:29.119. Forgan said they were able to fix an issue that they had after the first heat.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe were focused on that,\u201d she said. \u201cWe had a plan, and the second run is almost easier in some respects, where you\u2019ve done it once before. So, you know how the ice feels \u2026 You can really relax into it and let the sled run. So that\u2019s what we did. I was really happy to fix our mistake and just kind of keep that speed going all the way down.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tSelina Egle and Lara Kipp of Austria won the gold in 1:28.310 and secured a new track record of 44.151. Germany\u2019s Dajana Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina were second in 1:28.594.<\/p>\n
\tAmericans Maya Chan of Chicago and Sophia Gordon of Sussex, Wisconsin, earned their best career World Cup finish, placing fifth in 1:29.180.<\/p>\n
\tUnlike the men\u2019s doubles, the women\u2019s event will only allow one team per nation at the upcoming Olympics. Kirkby said they\u2019re just hoping that they can continue to build momentum.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cBut more importantly, I just want us to try our best and have fun, because this is a really fun experience,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s an Olympic year, so everything\u2019s a little bit crazier this year. And this is our first Olympics (for women\u2019s doubles), so we\u2019re just experiencing it for the first time and learning what happens as we go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tIn the overall World Cup standings, Egle and Kipp are in first place with 270 points, and Eitberger and Matschina are in second with 255. Germany\u2019s Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal are third with 230 points. After two races, the American teams are both in the top 10. Forgan and Kirkby are in sixth place with 125 points, and Chan and Gordon are 10th with 94.<\/p>\n
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Women\u2019s singles<\/p>\n
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\tLess than a week after Farquharson won her first career women\u2019s singles World Cup medal \u2014 a bronze \u2014 in her hometown of Park City, she was able to top that by placing second in Lake Placid.<\/p>\n
\tFarquharson put together two great runs to place second overall in a two-run time of 1:28.956. The 2022 Olympian, who had won three World Cup medals in the relay and the sprint events, said winning back-to-back medals in singles racing is validating.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt really proves that all the work I\u2019ve put in and everything all the sacrifices and all the stuff that goes into training for something like this is finally paying off,\u201d she said. \u201cAll the work that the coaches put in is, it\u2019s fast, you know? I\u2019m going fast, and that\u2019s always a good feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tBritcher, of Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, also stood on the podium once again, placing third overall in 1:29.054. Having posted a gold medal performance in Park City last weekend, Britcher smiled before saying it\u2019s hard to top that.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI was just trying to stay really grounded. It\u2019s very easy when you race or have a great result to get carried away and start thinking, \u2018OK, I\u2019m going fast, I can do this, I can do that,’\u201d she said. \u201cSo I was just trying to stay very grounded in how that would happen, which was I stayed very focused. I tried to stay very calm, and most importantly, I really just tried to be grateful to be racing and really just enjoy the run and make sure that I\u2019m actually having a fun time, because that\u2019s why I\u2019m here, because I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tGermany\u2019s Julia Taubitz, a five-time overall World Cup winner, improved on her first heat time, which left her in third place, to earn the top spot with a two-run time of 1:28.824. The win marked Taubitz\u2019s 31st World Cup victory.<\/p>\n
\tTeam USA\u2019s Emily Fischnaller was the fastest in the first run in 44.467 seconds, but fell back to fourth place (0.247) after only the fourth-fastest run (44.604) in the second heat. While it was disappointing, the U.S. couldn\u2019t pull off the podium sweep, Britcher said, having three of the top four finishers proves that the U.S. has a lot of depth right now.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt\u2019s very exciting to see the momentum building as the season goes on,\u201d she said. The youngest American women\u2019s singles slider, Emma Erickson of Park City, Utah placed 16th, tying her best-ever result. The 22-year-old finished with a time of 1:30.216.<\/p>\n
\tIn the overall World Cup standings, Germany\u2019s Merle Fraebel and Austria\u2019s Hannah Prock are tied for first place with 185 points. Dorothea Schwarz of Austria is third with 176. Britcher leads the U.S. women in fifth place with 170 points, Farquharson is now in sixth place with 155, Fischnaller is 14th with 90 and Erickson is 26th with 44.<\/p>\n
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Men\u2019s singles<\/p>\n
\u2013<\/p>\n
\tAlthough the U.S. men\u2019s singles sliders didn\u2019t reach the podium on Dec. 20, veterans Jonny Gustafson of Massena and Tucker West of Lake Placid secured top-10 finishes.<\/p>\n
\tGustafson led the U.S. once again, placing ninth with a time of 1:42.284, while West was 10th place in 1:42.442. Gustafson said his runs were pretty decent, but he felt he left some time out on the track.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt\u2019s a little frustrating seeing our men\u2019s doubles, women\u2019s doubles and women\u2019s singles do so well and we definitely want to be up on the podium with them,\u201d he said. \u201cSo there\u2019s still some improvements to do, but this season has definitely been a step in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tTeam USA\u2019s Hunter Harris finished the day in 22nd place with a time of 51.806, while teammate Matt Greiner was 26th in 51.917. Harris, of East Fairfield, Vermont, and Greiner, of Park City, Utah, did not complete a second run as only the top 20 sleds are eligible to race in the second heat.<\/p>\n
\tGermany\u2019s Felix Loch was the overall winner, finishing in 1:41.766 to secure the 54th World Cup victory of his career. While the German slider has been dominant throughout his time with the sport, this was the first time he\u2019d reached the podium in Lake Placid since the 2009 World Championships here.<\/p>\n
\tLoch was excited to be atop the podium, especially after a rough start to the week.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe first (test) run I had a crash here,\u201d he said. \u201cBut then it got better and better. Today, I had a really good start. It was, I would say, nearly perfect. So, just in the 2nd round, the start was not so good. But (overall) the runs were really, really good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tLoch was followed by his teammate Max Langenhan, the reigning world champion, in second place, who recorded a two-run time of 1:41.820. Austria\u2019s Wolfgang Kindl in third in 1:41.969.<\/p>\n
\tLangenhan said the Mount Van Hoevenberg track has typically been challenging for his country.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cEspecially in the last few years we were here,\u201d he said. \u201cWe gained one podium or something, and normally we stand next to the U.S. boys and cheer for them because they did a great job here. So we are super happy with the outcome of the first and second place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tLoch is leading the World Cup overall points with 246, followed by Austria\u2019s Jonas Mueller with 245 and Langenhan is third with 240. After two races, Gustafson is 11th with 97 points and West is 28th with 41. Just one point separates Greiner, who is 29th with 37 points, and Harris, who is 30th with 36.<\/p>\n
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Mixed relay<\/p>\n
\u2013<\/p>\n
\tWhile the mixed doubles event was canceled due to technical problems, the mixed singles event closed out the World Cup. It was the first time this mixed event had taken place at Mount Van Hoevenberg since it debuted last season.<\/p>\n
\tThe mixed event features two sleds, a man and a woman. The male athlete takes a normal trip down the track, but instead of the clock stopping at the traditional finish line, he strikes a pad hanging over the track, which opens the gate for the female athlete. The clock stops when she strikes the pad at the bottom of the track.<\/p>\n
\tWest and Britcher teamed up on the second USA sled and finished just off the podium in fourth place, after Britcher hit the paddle at 1:48.480. Gustafson and Farquharson were in the first USA pairing, placing seventh in 1:48.480.<\/p>\n
\tGustafson said he\u2019s a big fan of the mixed relay event.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe\u2019re in an individual sport, so anytime you can kind of bridge that gap and make it a team sport, it\u2019s really fun,\u201d he said. \u201cI think all the relays, whether it\u2019s the mixed events or the actual team relay, they are the best events we have. So I\u2019m always excited when I get to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tTeam Germany 2, which featured Langenhan and Merle Frabel, won the gold medal with a time of 1:47.611, while Team Germany 1, which consisted Loch and Taubitz of took the silver in 1:47.745. The bronze medal went to Jonas Muller and Schwarz in Team Austria 2 in 1:47.987.<\/p>\n
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USA Luge\u2019s Ashley Farquharson slides through the Shady curve during the mixed singles relay…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":651992,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[29099,49,978,659,199503,199502],"class_list":{"0":"post-651991","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-local-sports","9":"tag-united-states","10":"tag-us","11":"tag-usa","12":"tag-usa-luge-races-to-another-stellar-world-cup","13":"tag-usa-luge-races-to-another-stellar-world-cupsports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115773215831137868","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=651991"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651991\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/651992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=651991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=651991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=651991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}