Britcher takes gold, Farquharson bronze in Park City; USA wins bronze in team relay
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by Lauren Howe
PARK CITY, Utah— It was an historic day for USA Luge at the EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup as Summer Britcher secured a sixth career gold medal, furthering her legacy as the all-time singles leader in the U.S. The result also marks the 50th World Cup gold medal for USA Luge.
Ashley Farquharson won her first singles career World Cup medal, taking bronze with a time of one minute, 27.066 seconds, while Team USA also earned bronze in the relay.
Women’s singles
Three-time Olympian Britcher (Glen Rock, Pa.) who was in the top spot following yesterday’s first run in the discipline, found speed toward the end of the track and crossed the finish line at 1:26.961. She won her first race in Park City 10 years and two days ago.
Farquharson (Park City, Utah) came back from tenth place yesterday with the fastest time in the second heat. The 2022 Olympian earned the bronze with a time of 1:27.070 in front of a home crowd. This was Farquharson’s first trip to the World Cup podium. Emma Erickson (Park City, Utah) did not compete in today’s second run, as only the top 20 advance to the second heat. She finished in 22nd place with a time of 44.045.
Italy’s Verena Hofer was second in 1:27.066.
Two-time Olympian Emily Fischnaller (Lake Placid, N.Y.) who sat in second place following the first heat, hit the wall entering curve 11, and ultimately finished in 13th place with a time of 1:27.496.
In overall World Cup standings, Austria’s Hannah Prock is in first place with 155 points, Merle Fraebel of Germany is second with 135 and Prock’s teammate Dorothea Schwarz is third with 130.
The U.S. team did not compete in the first World Cup of the season as it was not an Olympic qualifying event and opted to travel to Lake Placid for additional training. After one race, Britcher leads the U.S. women in fourth place with 100 points, Farquharson is 11th with 70, Fischnaller is 25th with 30, and Erickson is 32nd with 19.
Men’s singles
2022 Olympian Jonny Gustafson (Massena, N.Y.) tied a career best fifth place with a time of 1:30.215. Teammate Matt Greiner (Park City, Utah) finished in 18th in 1:32.228. Like Erickson, Hunter Harris (East Fairfield, Vt.) did not compete in today’s second run. He placed 24th in 46.399.
Austria’s Jonas Mueller won gold with a time of 1:29.640, followed by Germany’s Max Langenhan in second place in 1:29.897, and Itay’s Leon Felderer in third in 1:30.148.
Mueller leads the overall World Cup standings with 185 points, followed by Langenhan in second with 155, and Germany’s Felix Loch in third with 146. Gustafson is 13th with 55 and Greiner is 30th with 23. Harris is 34th with 17 and Tucker West (Lake Placid, N.Y.) is 46th with two points.
Team relay
Following Britcher’s gold medal performance, she joined teammate Gustafson, yesterday’s men’s doubles silver medalists Zack DiGregorio and Sean Hollander, and the duo of Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby for the relay.
Britcher kicked off the relay, followed by Gustafson, DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.) and Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.). Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Kirkby (Lake Placid, N.Y.) had the strongest start among all women’s doubles teams, securing the bronze medal for Team USA with a time of 3:06.451.
Team Italy won with a time of 3:05.885, with Team Austria second in 3:06.092.
Austria leads the World Cup overall points with 170. Germany is second with 155, and Italy third with 150. Team USA is seventh with 70 points after taking part in one of two relay races this season.
Quotes from USA Luge athletes
Summer Britcher: “I feel so good. It’s been quite a while since I’ve stood on top of the podium, so I can’t even describe it; it’s just incredible! And to do it here with my family and to share the podium with Ashley, the only thing better than getting a podium is sharing the podium with a teammate.”
Ashley Farquharson: “After my mistake yesterday I was like, ‘Put her down,’ so I did! It is tricky this year. The profiles are shaped a lot differently than what I’m used to but I just kind of came back to the fact that I have probably a thousand runs here over my life and tried to lean into the fact that if it was hard for me then it was twice as hard for everyone else.”
Jonny Gustafson: “It was awesome out there. I mean, the track was a wild ride for everybody, and I was lucky enough to make it down. And I'm happy the second run was really strong. It was, I think, fourth overall for that run. And I'm stoked the top five (finish) ties my PR. Obviously would have liked a few more spots, but I'm ecstatic.”
Sean Hollander: “It feels good. I mean there was definitely some time in our run. We weren’t too happy with the reaction time, but we are happy with the result, and we had a little luck on our side.”
Zack DiGregorio: “Two medals in a weekend is great so we are really stoked on that.”
Chevonne Forgan: “We had so much fun racing today here in Park City, and we love racing on a home track. We are happy we put down a good run!”
Sophia Kirkby: “I’m really excited to go home and race on my home track. And I’m really excited to see the home crowd that we will have out there cheering for us.”
Olympic qualification and Team USA nomination process
The EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup in Park City is the second of five Olympic qualification races.
Nations earn Olympic spots by earning points through results of the Cortina test event and four pre-Olympic World Cup races. To learn more about the quota system for nations, visit https://www.fil-luge.org/cdn/uploads/milano-cortina-2026-qualification-system-for-luge-v3.pdf
Team USA athletes earn a nomination to the 2026 Olympic Team based on results in the five FIL Olympic qualifying events. An “A tier” result (a top five finish in a full field, as defined by
World Cup rules), or two “B tier” results (two results in the top 50% of a full field, as defined by World Cup rules) can earn an Olympic nomination. If an athlete does not earn an “A tier” or “B tier,” then points earned in the five races will be used. For the complete procedure, visit https://www.usaluge.org/selection-processes
Today, Britcher earned her first “A tier” in women’s singles, while Farquharson earned her second. Sweeney earned half of a “B tier.” Gustafson has an “A tier” in men’s singles.
On or about January 12, 2026, USA Luge will formally announce its list of nominees to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, who will then announce those athletes as members of the 2026 Olympic squad.
World Cup racing moves to Lake Placid, N.Y. next weekend, December 19-20, before the holiday break. Media credentials are currently available for next weekend’s races in Lake Placid. To apply for a credential, please see the link below:
Lake Placid World Cup
December 19-20, 2025; Mt. Van Hoevenberg
