Britcher, Gustafson lead team at Winterberg World Cup as Greiner and Fischnaller secure Olympic nominations

WINTERBERG, Germany— The top performing men’s and women’s singles athletes all season long continued that trend, as Summer Britcher and Jonny Gustafson led the U.S. team, placing fifth and ninth, respectively. The drama, however, was further down the order, with Olympic team berths on the line. Ashley Farquharson finished the qualification period as the second-ranked U.S. sled, earning her a nomination to the Olympic Team, and Emily Fischnaller earned her third Olympic team nomination. On the men’s side, Matt Greiner edged out Tucker West to earn the nomination for the second and final men’s slot alongside Gustafson.

With less than one month to go until the 2026 Winter Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo, this weekend’s races in Winterberg are the final 2026 Olympic qualifying races and the half-way point in this season’s World Cup season.

Women’s singles  

Following her second World Cup gold medal of the season last weekend in Sigulda, Britcher wore the World Cup Leader bib for today’s race. She was fourth going into the second heat, but a mistake pushed her back into fifth place with a time of 1:52.527.

Fischnaller (Lake Placid, N.Y.) overcame mistakes on both runs and held on to finish in 18th with a time of 1:53.296. She needed to finish in front of several athletes, including Nina Zoeggler of Italy, who finished 22nd, to earn the third qualification spot for the U.S. team.

2022 Olympian Farquharson did not finish her first run following a mistake in curve 13. Emma Erickson (Park City, Utah) placed 23rd with a time of 57.145. She did not qualify to race in the second heat.

The lineup for Cortina next month will be officially confirmed on January 16, but is expected to feature Britcher, Farquharson and Fischnaller.

Austria’s Hannah Prock won the gold with a time of 1:51.885. In second was Germany’s Julia Taubitz in 1:51.972, and third was Verena Hofer of Italy in 1:52.250.

In overall World Cup standings, Prock leads with 331 points, Taubitz is second with 329, and Britcher third with 325. Farquharson is ninth with 220, Fischnaller 16th with 123, and Erickson is 29th with 62 points.

Men’s singles

2022 Olympian Gustafson (Massena, N.Y.) was the top finishing sled for the U.S., placing ninth with a time of 1:43.640. He clinched a nomination earlier in the season. Teammate Greiner (Park City, Utah) was 15th in 1:44.028, securing the two-time Junior World Championship medalist his first Olympic Team nomination.

“Today was unbelievable. The men’s series all the way back to just making the World Cup team came right down to the wire,” said Greiner. “I had the best race of my career on my favorite track in the world today and got the job done when it mattered. It’s literally a dream come true.”

West (Lake Placid, N.Y.) finished in 20th place with a two-run combined time of 1:44.342. To earn a 2026 Olympic nomination, he needed a 16th place or better. The other path was to finish in front of Greiner. Neither scenario played out for the three-time Olympian and winner of three World Cup gold medals.

Hunter Harris (East Fairfield, Vt.) did not qualify to race.

Austrian Jonas Mueller won the race in 1:42.899. In second was Felix Loch of Germany in 1:43.004, with Nico Gleirscher of Austria in third in 1:43.016.

Gustafson moves down one spot to 12th place in overall World Cup points with 160. West bumps up two spots to 25th with 76, Greiner is 27th with 74 points, and Harris is 30th with 60 points.

Just one point separates Loch and Mueller for first and second place with 431 and 430 points, respectively. Max Langenhan of Germany is third with 365.

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.

World Cup racing continues in Winterberg tomorrow with the men’s and women’s doubles and team relay competition. All World Cup 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.