Britcher wins Latvia World Cup, USA bronze in relay as 2026 Olympic squad begins to take shape

SIGULDA, Latvia—Summer Britcher won her second race of the season and assumed the lead of the overall World Cup, despite missing the first event of the season. She has all but locked up a slot on the 2026 Olympic Team.

The United States relay team of Britcher, Zack DiGregorio and Sean Hollander in men’s doubles, Jonny Gustafson, and Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby in women’s doubles won the bronze medal following a near-perfect effort from all four sleds.

Women’s singles

Britcher (Glen Rock, Pa.) secured her seventh World Cup victory, a USA Luge record for women, in one minute 23.840 seconds. The three-time Olympian was sitting in third place after the first heat but posted the fastest time of the weekend to win the race.

“I'm very, very happy,” said Britcher. “I've had a lot of ups and downs here in Sigulda, and a long time ago it was my favorite track, and I really loved it. And this week was so much fun. The track crew did an amazing job preparing the track, so it was a lot of fun to feel that joy on the track again here.”

With three podium finishes this season, including two wins, Britcher is expected to qualify for her fourth Olympic team. 

Ashley Farquharson (Park City, Utah) sat in ninth place after the first heat and like Britcher, she also moved up the rankings. The 2022 Olympian placed fifth in 1:24.131. Emily Fischnaller (Lake Placid, N.Y.) was sitting in fourth place after the first heat but did not finish the race following a mistake in curves 12 and 13. 

This result, like Britcher’s, has placed her as an overwhelming favorite to qualify for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, Italy next month. 

Lisa Schulte of Austria was second in 1:23.877 and Juila Taubitz of Germany was third in 1:23. 931.

The U.S. team skipped the first World Cup of the season, as it was not a part of the Olympic qualification process. Despite this, Britcher sits atop the World Cup standings with 270 points. In second is Merle Fraebel of Germany with 245, and Taubitz is third with 244. 

Farquharson is seventh with 210, and Fischnaller 15th with 100. Emma Erickson (Park City, Utah) did not qualify for this weekend's race and sits 31st with 44 points. 

Team Relay

On one of the more challenging tracks in the world, the United States relay team put together four cleans runs. Britcher kicked off the relay and posted the fastest time of the race among the women. 

DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.) and Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.) held the lead, but a very minor issue at the start set the team back slightly. Gustafson (Massena, N.Y.) was next with Team USA sitting in fourth place at the transfer over to Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Kirkby (Lake Placid, N.Y.). The duo brought the team up to the bronze medal position with a time of 3:01.643.

“I think Team USA does a great job in relay,” said DiGregorio. “We saw Summer had tons of speed, so she led us off and gave us a nice, good lead. And we followed through and got up to third place.”

Austria was first in 3:01.215, with Latvia second in 3:01.510. Austria leads the overall relay World Cup points standings with 270 points. Latvia is second with 215 and Poland is third with 166. The United States is seventh with 140. 

Men’s singles

Gustafson, a 2022 Olympian, was the top finishing U.S. sled in 17th with a time of 1:36.837. Hunter Harris (East Fairfield, Vt.) was 26th in 49.275, with three-time Olympian Tucker West (Lake Placid, N.Y.) in 27th with a time of 49.409. Harris and West did not qualify for today’s second heat.

At 37 years old, Felix Loch of Germany is showing no signs of slowing down. He won today’s race in 1:35.409. Austrian Jonas Mueller was second in 1:35.490 and Max Langenhan of Germany was third in 1:35.508.

Gustafson holds 11th place in overall World Cup points with 121. West is 27th with 55 and Harris 28th with 51. Matt Greiner (Park City, Utah) did not qualify for today’s race and sits in 31st with 47 points.

Loch leads the standings with 346 points. Mueller is second with 330 and Langenhan is third with 310. 

Olympic qualification and Team USA nomination process  

The World Cup in Sigulda was the fourth 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

Farquharson has earned four A tiers thus far, while Britcher has earned three. A path to the 2026 Olympic Games still exists for Fischnaller. She will need to maintain a points lead over Italian, Latvian and Canadian athletes at next week’s race in Winterberg, Germany. Specifically, she needs to stay in front of Nina Zoeggler of Italy, Caitlin Nash of Canada, and Zane Kaluma and Margita Sirsnina, both from Latvia. 

Gustafson has one A tier following his fifth-place finish in Park City last month. West has one B tier. He will need to earn a second B tier at next weekend’s competition in Winterberg, Germany, to qualify for the 2026 Games. Should he fail to earn a B tier, West will need to outscore Harris and Greiner. After four races, West has 75 points, Harris has 74 and Greiner 73. 

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.

All races can be seen live on the FIL YouTube page, Max and Discovery+. Weekly highlight shows are also available on the NBC Sports YouTube channel.

The next World Cup race and final Olympic qualification race will take place next weekend. Opening ceremonies for the 2026 Winter Games in Milan-Cortina, Italy, are scheduled to be held February 6, 2026, with luge events beginning the next day.