Chan/Weiler sixth, Sweeney eighth

OBERHOF, Germany—The Eberspächer Luge World Cup continued this week in Germany with warm temperatures once again creating relatively slow track times.

The U.S. team placed four sleds in the top ten, two of which came from the women’s doubles teams. Maya Chan/Reannyn Weiler placed sixth, as they have done in all but one of this season’s races. As the leading U.S. women’s doubles team, the duo secured their first appearance at a World Cup team relay scheduled for tomorrow.

Emily Sweeney led the United States women in eighth place, while Zack DiGregorio/Sean Hollander were the top U.S. sled in the men’s doubles race in ninth.

Women’s Doubles

Today’s race marked the first time the women’s doubles teams started from the same point as the men’s teams.

2024 U23 World Championships silver medalists Chan/Weiler placed sixth with a time of one minute 27.090 seconds. Chan (Chicago, Ill.)/Weiler (Whitesboro, N.Y.) will join tomorrow’s team relay competition for the first time this season.

“We had a pretty good race today with a couple of small mistakes,” said Weiler. “Overall, we’re pretty happy with our performance considering this is our first time up at the real doubles start here in Oberhof, and we are looking forward to tomorrow.”

“[We’re] really excited to be doing relay tomorrow,” said Chan. “It’s been a while since we’ve done a real, actual team relay. I think the last time we did was at the 2020 Youth Olympics, so we are super excited to be back in it and looking forward to tomorrow’s race.”

2024 World Championships bronze medalists Chevonne Forgan/Sophia Kirkby had the fastest start on the second heat, but a mistake forced them to go too high in curve ten. Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.)/Kirkby (Ray Brook, N.Y.) placed seventh in 1:27.210.

Germany’s Jessica Degenhardt/Cheyenne Rosenthal won their tenth World Cup race in 1:26.244, and secured a start record with a time of 7.690 and track record in 43.049. Italy’s Andrea Voetter/Marion Oberhofer took the silver medal in 1:26.277, with Austria’s Selina Egle/Lara Kipp in third in 1:26.365.

Just ten points separate the top two overall World Cup leaders. Degenhardt/Rosenthal are in first with 565 points, followed by Voetter/Oberhofer in second with 555. Egle/Kipp are third with 484. Forgan/Kirkby are fifth with 436, and Chan/Weiler in sixth with 334.

Women’s Singles

Sweeney led the U.S. women today after challenging ice conditions in the first run. Sweeney (Lake Placid, N.Y.) couldn’t find speed in the first heat, resulting in a 25th place finish. She used the early start in the second heat to her advantage and found a full second of time, bumping her up 17 places to finish eighth with a time of 1:25.445

2022 Olympian Ashley Farquharson (Park City, Utah) placed 13th with a time of 1:25.502, while teammate Summer Britcher (Glen Rock, Pa.) skid in both heats and placed 19th with a time of 1:25.886.

It was a golden day for Germany’s Merle Fraebel, who earned her first career World Cup victory with a time of 1:24.956. Austria’s Madeleine Egle was second in 1:35.080, and Germany’s Julia Taubitz in 1:25.108.

Taubitz continues to lead the overall World Cup points with 625, followed by Egle in second with 542 and Germany’s Anna Berreiter in third with 417. Farquharson remains in fourth with 365 points, Sweeney moves sixth to fifth with 361, and Britcher bumps down a spot to ninth with 291.

Men’s Doubles

As the first discipline to hit the ice, the conditions deteriorated as warmer temperatures resulted in slower race times across the roster in the second heat.

2023 Lake Placid World Cup gold medalists DiGregorio/Hollander had two strong, consistent runs following a few difficult weeks. DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.)/Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.) found speed at bottom of the track on their first run, but ice conditions and small mistakes slowed them down in the second heat. They placed ninth in a time of 1:24.555.

Fresh off their silver medal at last weekend’s team relay in Altenberg, U.S. teammates Dana Kellogg/Frank Ike cleared the track with clean runs but couldn’t find speed. Kellogg (Chesterfield, Mass.)/Ike (Lititz, Pa.) placed 17th in 1:25.234.

The gold medal went to Austria’s Thomas Steu/Wolfgang Kindl with a time of 1:23.928. This is the second World Cup victory for the duo. Taking silver was Germany’s Hanns Orlamuender/Paul Gubitz in 1:24.051, with teammates Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt in third in 1:24.118.

Steu/Kindl continue to lead the World Cup overall points with 586. Wendl/Arlt are second with 475, and Latvia’s Martins Bots/Roberts Plume are third with 470. DiGregorio/Hollander remain in eighth with 313, and Kellogg/Ike are 11th with 222.

For more results on the 2023-2024 World Cup season, visit 

https://www.fil-luge.org/en/current-statics?event_season_id=31

The EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup continues tomorrow, February 11 from Oberhof, Germany, with the men’s singles and team relay. To live stream the races and to view archived competitions, please visit the FIL’s YouTube channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@FILLuge_Channel The entire World Cup and World Championship season can be accessed from this portal. 

Team USA earns four top ten spots in Oberhof World Cup

Oberhof 2024 Day One

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