Forgan/Kirkby fourth, Chan/Weiler sixth in women’s doubles; West, Gustafson top 10 in men’s singles
WHISTLER, B.C.—Following a successful EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup on Team USA’s home track in Lake Placid, N.Y. last weekend, international racing continued at the Whistler Sliding Center. The 2010 Olympic track is hosting the second of nine World Cup events being held in the 2023-24 season.
In addition to the World Cup, the 13th FIL America-Pacific Championships are being held as a race-within-a-race format across all disciplines over two days. The championships recognize the top three athletes from North America, South America, and Australia.
Men’s Singles
USA Luge was led by three-time Olympian Tucker West (Ridgefield, Conn.), who placed eighth with a time of one minute, 41.054 seconds, followed by teammate Jonny Gustafson (Massena, N.Y.) in ninth place with a time of 1:41.057.
Hunter Harris (East Fairfield, Vt.) placed 19th with a time of 1:42.855. Aidan Mueller (Lake Placid, N.Y.) participated in his first World Cup but failed to finish the race following a crash during the first heat. He walked away from the incident.
For the ninth consecutive time, the gold medal went to Max Langenhan of Germany with a time of 1:40.093, Austria’s Jonas Mueller took silver in 1:40.348, and Latvia’s Kristers Aparjods was third with a time of 1:40.572.
The America-Pacific Championships was won by West, with the silver going to Gustafson, and the bronze to Australia’s Alexander Ferlazzo in 1:41.280. Harris placed fifth.
Langenhan remains the current overall World Cup leader with 300 points. In second place is Austria’s Jonas Mueller with 230, and third is Nico Gleirscher of Austria with 200. One point separates West and Gustafson, with West in seventh place with 134 and Gustafson in eighth with 133. Harris moved up one place from 15th last week to 14th this week with 74 points. 2018 Olympic silver medalist Chris Mazdzer, who retired from competitive luge following last weekend’s World Cup in Lake Placid, finished with 62 points. Mueller is in 30th place with 12 points.
Women’s Doubles
USA Luge women’s doubles raced strong, but it wasn’t enough to secure a podium in Whistler. Chevonne Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Sophie Kirkby (Ray Brook, N.Y.) placed fourth in 1:18.514. Forgan and Kirkby were in position to win a medal but had problems in the final corner. Teammates Maya Chan (Chicago, Ill.) and Reanynn Weiler (Whitesboro, N.Y.) placed sixth with a time of 1:18.768.
Germany took the top two spots on the podium. Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal won the gold in 1:18.371, and Dajana Eitberger and Saskia Schirmer placed second with a time of 1:18.451. In third were Italy’s Andrea Voetter and Marion Oberhofer with a time of 1:18.466.
Forgan/Kirkby won the America-Pacific Championships, with Chan/Weiler in second and Canada’s Embyr-Lee Susko and Beattie Podulsky in third in 1:18.920.
Austria’s Selina Egle and Lara Kipp remain the overall World Cup women’s doubles leaders with 255 points, followed by Eitberger/Schirmer with 240, and Degenhardt/Rosenthal with 210. Forgan/Kirkby hold fourth with 205, and Chan/Weiler remain in sixth place with 150 points.
Men’s Doubles
The 2023 Lake Placid World Cup winners Zack DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.) and Sean Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.) had two inconsistent runs and landed in 13th place with a time of 1:18.089.
Marcus Mueller (Brookfield, Wisc.) and Ansel Haugsjaa (Framingham, Mass.) finished their first World Cup race by placing 17th in 1:18.478. The duo won the Junior World Cup held in Whistler one week ago. The doubles team of Dana Kellogg (Chesterfield, Mass.) and Frank Ike (Lititz, Pa.) crashed during training earlier in the week and did not compete.
The gold medal went to Germany’s Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt with a time of 1:17.300. Austria’s Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl placed second in 1:17.378, and in third were Germany’s Hannes Orlamuender and Paul Gubitz with a time of 1:17.405.
Canada’s Devin Wardrope and Cole Zajaanski placed first in the America-Pacific Championships with a time of 1:18.046. In second place were DiGregorio/Hollander, with Mueller/Haugsjaa in third.
Steu/Kindl continue to lead the World Cup overall points with 255. Wendl/Arlt are in second with 225, with Latvia’s Martins Bots and Roberts Plume in third with 210. DiGregorio/Hollander dropped from third to fourth with 172 points, and Kellogg/Ike are in 15th with 70. Mueller/Haugsjaa are in 20th place with 24 points.
For more results on the 2023-2024 World Cup season, visit https://www.fil-luge.org/en/multimedia/eberspaecher-world-cup-27
EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup action continues from Whistler on December 16 featuring the women’s singles race, the men’s singles race and the first Team Relay of the season. The World Championships are slated to take place in Altenberg, Germany on January 27-28, 2024. To live stream the races and to view archived competitions, please visit the FIL’s YouTube channel:
The entire World Cup and World Championship season can be accessed from this portal.
