Mueller and Haugsjaa win first career World Cup gold medal in Lake Placid

Mueller and Haugsjaa win first career World Cup gold medal in Lake Placid 

Forgan and Kirkby take bronze in women’s doubles 

LAKE PLACID, N.Y.—Following a one-day delay in men’s and women’s doubles racing due to weather conditions, Americans Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa won their first career World Cup gold medal.

The duo, who were also crowned the winner of the American-Pacific Championships, crossed the finish line on their home track with a time of one minute, 27.509 seconds.

In women's doubles, Americans Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby took the bronze medal.

Today’s races were to include the mixed doubles event, but following a technical issue, it was canceled and only the mixed singles race was held.

Men’s doubles

Mueller (Brookfield, Wisc.) and Haugsjaa (Framingham, Mass.) won their second medal of the season, following a silver at the test event in Cortina. 2023 World Cup gold medalists Zack DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.) and Sean Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.) placed ninth with a time of 1:27.937, while Dana Kellogg (Chesterfield, Mass.) and Frank Ike (Lititz, Pa.) finished tenth in 1:27.987.

Latvia’s Martins Bots and Roberts Plume placed second in 1:27.567, and Austria’s Yannick Mueller and Armin Frauscher were third in 1:27.649.

In the American-Pacific Championships, DiGregorio and Hollander were second, and Kellogg and Ike took the bronze.

Germany’s 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.

The U.S. team did not compete in the first World Cup of the season as it was not an Olympic qualifying event. Following two World Cup races, Mueller and Haugsjaa are seventh with 136 points, DiGregorio and Hollander are ninth with 124, and Kellogg and Ike are 20th with 68.

Women's doubles

After the first heat, 2024 World Cup gold medalists Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Kirkby (Lake Placid, N.Y.) were in fourth place. The duo rallied on their second run to secure the bronze medal in 1:29.119.

Americans Maya Chan (Chicago, Ill.) and Sophia Gordon (Sussex, Wisc.) placed fifth, a best-ever career result, with a time of 1:29.180.

Selina Egle and Lara Kipp of Austria won the gold in 1:28.310 and secured a new track record of 44.151. Germany’s Dajana Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina were second in 1:28.594.

In the American-Pacific Championships, Forgan and Kirkby took the gold medal, Chan and Gordon won the silver, and Canada’s Beattie Podulsky and Kailey Allan earned bronze.

In overall World Cup standings, Egle and Kipp are in first place with 270 points, and Eitberger and Matschina are in second with 255. Germany’s Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal are third with 230 points. After two races, the American teams are both in the top ten. Forgan and Kirkby are in sixth place with 125 points, and Chan and Gordon are tenth with 94.  

Men’s singles

2022 Olympian Jonny Gustafson (Massena, N.Y.) led the U.S. men for a second weekend in a row, placing ninth with a time of 1:42.284. Three-time Olympian Tucker West (Lake Placid, N.Y.) followed in tenth place in 1:42.442.

Hunter Harris finished the day in 22nd place with a time of 51.806, while teammate Matt Greiner was 26th in 51.917. Harris (East Fairfield, Vt.) and Greiner (Park City, Utah) did not complete a second run as only the top 20 sleds are eligible to race in the second heat.

In the American-Pacific Championships, Gustafson was first with West second and Australia’s Alexander Ferlazzo third. Harris was fourth and Greiner fifth.

Germany’s Felix Loch secured the 54th World Cup victory of his career with a time of 1:41.766. Teammate Max Langenhan took second place in 1:41.820, with Austria’s Wolfgang Kindl in third in 1:41.969.

Loch is leading the World Cup overall points with 246, followed by Austria’s 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 is 30th with 36.  

Mixed singles

The 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.

Unofficially, .004 kept West and Summer Britcher (Glen Rock, Pa.), Team USA 2, off the podium. Britcher hit the paddle at 1:48.480. Teammates Gustafson and Ashley Farquharson (Park City, Utah) of Team USA 1 were seventh in 1:48.480.

Team Germany 2 won the gold medal with a time of 1:47.611, while Team Germany 1 took the silver in 1:47.745. The bronze medal went to Team Austria 2 in 1:47.987. 

Quotes from USA Luge athletes  

Marcus Mueller: “I feel amazing and to do this at home, there’s just nothing like it, it’s super awesome! I was trying not to think a lot about the second run and just think about the one job we have of sliding. Other than that, I normally feel pretty sick between runs!”

Ansel Haugsjaa: “First individual medal in the World Cup, first win in front of the home crowd, it just couldn’t get any better, it’s incredible! You’re really trying to focus as much as you can on the job you have, but in between the first and second run in [first] position, it’s definitely gets a little harder so it’s just reminding yourself of what you have to do.”

Sophia Kirkby: “As you can see, we have the support and this crowd to cheer us on here on our home track in Lake Placid, N.Y. I’m really proud of the bronze medal we got today, and it’s our Olympic qualifier, the third one, so this counts!”

Chevonne Forgan: “It feels great! It’s such a treat to be able to race on home ice with our friends and family here to support us. We are happy to have made it back on the podium.”

Jonny Gustafson: “It always feels good to be the leading man, but I definitely left a lot out on the track. I’m so excited for the [holiday] break. We left for preseason in early October, and we’ve been go, go, going ever since so much needed [rest and relaxation] is coming up!”

Summer Britcher: “We had two great runs; we were just off the podium, and it was great racing, but that’s what the sport is. If you have a sport timed to the thousandths of a second sometimes, you’re going to miss by a couple thousandths.”

Tucker West: “The mixed relay is really fun. We don’t get a lot of team events and it’s another team relay sort of event which is fun. We train together all summer, we train together in the winter, so to come together and combine your results as a team is a lot of fun. We were painfully close to a medal there by four thousandths. We’ll come back stronger.”

Olympic qualification and Team USA nomination process  

The EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup in Lake Placid is the third 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

Mueller and Haugsjaa have now earned a second “A-tier” following their gold medal performance today. They also earned an “A-tier” at the Cortina qualifying event two weeks ago. DiGregorio and Hollander have one “A-tier” from their silver medal in Park City. 

Following today’s race, Forgan and Kirkby have earned an “A tier” with their bronze medal finish. They also have two “B tier” based on results in Cortina and Park City. Gustafson earned a second “B tier” today in addition to his result in Cortina. West earned a “B tier” today.  

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.   

The National Team is now on holiday break and will return to racing in Sigulda, Latvia, January 3-4, 2026. Opening ceremonies for the 2026 Winter Games in Milan-Cortina, Italy, are scheduled to be held February 7, 2025.