Sweeney, Forgan/Kirkby, DiGregorio/Hollander, West led U.S. in sprint races

OBERHOF, Germany—The Eberspaecher Luge World Cup completed a five-week circuit in Germany today with the women’s singles and the second sprint race of the season.

Team USA was led by Chevonne Forgan/Sophia Kirkby who placed fifth in the sprint women’s doubles race, with Emily Sweeney, placing sixth in the women’s singles sprint race. Tucker West and the duo of Zack DiGregorio/Sean Hollander placed 11th in their respective disciplines in the sprint.

Women’s Singles

Like yesterday’s races, the FIL referred to the rule book and adjusted the starting order in the women’s singles race to help level the field due to warm temperatures.

The U.S. women were a mixed bag today with clean runs and some bumps along the way. 2022 Olympian Ashley Farquharson (Park City, Utah) led the U.S. field with two clean runs, placing seventh with a time of one minute 24.737 seconds.

Teammate and three-time Olympian Sweeney slid strong and fast in the first run, but skid in final corner of the second heat. Sweeney (Lake Placid, N.Y.) finished 11th with a time of 1:24.919. 2024 Lake Placid World Cup bronze medalist Summer Britcher had trouble in the first heat, but came back in the second, posting the second fastest time, earning her a spot in the sprint race. Britcher (Glen Rock, Pa.) finished in 14th in 1:25.034.

Germany’s Julia Taubitz secured the 25th World Cup victory of her career, taking the gold medal with a time of 1:24.426. Just .05 separated Taubitz and her teammate, Anna Berreiter, who placed second in 1:24.477. Placing third was Austria’s Madeleine Egle with a time of 1:24.542.

Sprint Women’s Singles

There were no changes to the sprint start rosters this weekend, which meant Britcher was the second athlete off the handles based on her performance in the women’s singles event earlier today. She placed 13th with a time of 26.274.

Sweeney had a clean run and led Team USA in the sprint, placing sixth in 26.094. Farquharson finished ninth with a time of 26.148.

Taubitz continued collecting gold in Oberhof, winning the sprint with a time of 25.864, which also secured a track record. Switzerland’s Natalie Maag placed second in 25.958, with Berreiter in third in 26.014.

Following the two races today, Taubitz continues to lead the World Cup overall standings with 825 points, followed by Egle with 644, and Berreiter in third with 572. Farquharson remains in fifth place with 450, Sweeney in sixth with 445, and Britcher in 11th with 349.

Sprint Women’s Doubles

The 2023 Lake Placid Sprint World Cup silver medalists Chevonne Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.)/Sophia Kirkby (Ray Brook, N.Y.), who secured the start record in Oberhof during yesterday’s race, finished in fifth place with a time of 26.710. Teammates Maya Chan (Chicago, Ill.)/Reannyn Weiler (Whitesboro, N.Y.) placed seventh with a time of 26.886.

Austria’s Selina Egle/Lara Kipp won the gold in 26.425, with .002 separating the silver and bronze. Germany’s Dajana Eitberger/Saskia Schirmer placed second in 26.537, with 2024 World Championships Sprint gold medalists Andrea Voetter/Marion Oberhofer of Italy in third with 26.539.

Voetter/Oberhofer remain the World Cup overall leaders following today’s race with 710. Degenhardt/Rosenthal are second with 695, and Eitberger/Schirmer are third with 661. Forgan/Kirkby are fifth with 541, and Chan/Weiler are in sixth with 426.

Sprint Men’s Doubles

The gold and silver came down to the finish line, with Germany’s Hannes Orlamuender/Paul Gaubitz earning their first sprint victory with a time of 26.027 and securing a new track record. Just .02 separated them from Austria’s Thomas Steu/Wolfgang Kindl, who placed second in 26.049. Three-time Olympic Champions Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt of Germany were third with a time of 26.123.

2024 Lake Placid World Cup gold medalists Zack DiGregorio/Sean Hollander were late into curve 11 and had a big skid out of curve 13. DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.)/Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.) placed 11th with a time of 26.399. Teammates Dana Kellogg (Chesterfield, Mass.)/Frank Ike (Lititz, Pa.) had a solid run and placed 14th in 26.524.

The World Cup overall standings place Steu/Kindl in first with 686, followed by Wendl/Arlt in second with 560, and Latvia’s Martins Bots/Roberts Plume in third with 530. DiGregorio/Hollander are eighth with 352, and Kellogg/Ike are 11th with 250.

Sprint Men’s Singles

Germany’s Max Langenhan won the race and taking his fifth gold medal of the World Cup season with a time of 33.562. Austria’s Jonas Mueller and Wolfgang Kindl rounded out the podium, with Mueller in second in 33.586, and Kindl in third with 33.595.

Three-time Olympian Tucker West was the only U.S. athlete in the discipline after his top 15 finish in yesterday’s race. West (Ridgefield, Conn.) had a clean run but struggled to find speed. He placed 11th with a time of 33.896.

Langenhan remains the World Cup overall leader with 840 points, followed by Mueller with 664 and Latvia’s Kristers Aparjods in third with 571. West is in ninth with 342 points, Jonny Gustafson is 10th with 298, and Hunter Harris is 20th with 148.

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

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

The Luge World Cup continues February 24-25 from Sigulda, Latvia. 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 secures five top ten finishes to close out Oberhof World Cup

Oberhof Race 2 Day Two

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