Winterberg: Forgan and Kirkby join Mueller and Haugsjaa, DiGregorio and Hollander as nominees to 2026 Olympic Team

WINTERBERG, Germany—As the final day of World Cup racing concluded in Winterberg, it also marked the end of the qualifications for the 2026 Winter Games, with the nominees of the men’s and women’s doubles decided for Team USA.

Two-time World Championship medalists Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby secured a nomination for the 2026 Olympic Team and their legacy in USA Luge history as the first women’s doubles team to represent the U.S. on the Olympic stage. In men’s doubles, 2025 Lake Placid World Cup winners Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa will join 2022 Olympians Zack DiGregorio and Sean Hollander on the nomination ticket to Cortina.

The nominations for the 2026 Olympic Games, which also includes USA Luge women’s singles Summer Britcher, Ashley Farquharson, Emily Fischnaller, and men’s singles Jonny Gustafson and Matt Greiner, will be officially confirmed on January 16.

Having secured nominations in all four disciplines, the United States has also qualified to compete in the team relay event at the 2026 Olympics.

Women’s doubles

Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Kirkby (Lake Placid, N.Y.), who are the current start record holders in Winterberg, were in fifth place going into the second heat. The duo had the fastest start time of the second heat and remained in fifth with a time of one minute, 27.315 seconds.

Teammates Maya Chan (Chicago, Ill) and Sophia Gordon (Sussex, Wisc.) were just behind Forgan and Kirkby, landing in sixth place with a time of 1:27.419. The Olympic field will consist of 11 women’s doubles teams. In all likelihood, each nation competing will receive one entry. This will also be confirmed on January 16.
Germany’s Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal won the race in 1:26.710, followed by Austrians Selina Egle and Lara Kipp with a time of 1:26.810. In third were Dajana Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina of Germany in 1:27.079.

Egle and Kipp are the World Cup overall leaders with 455 points. Eitberger and Matschina are second with 410, and Degenhardt and Rosenthal are third with 330.
The entire U.S. team skipped the first World Cup of the season, as it was not a part of the Olympic qualification process. With four events remaining, Forgan and Kirkby hold onto fourth place in the overall standings with 235 points. Chan and Gordon are seventh with 194.

Men’s doubles

The Winterberg track was unforgiving for the men’s doubles teams, with almost no sleds immune from mistakes. All three U.S. sleds were no exception. Mueller (Brookfield, Wisc.) and Haugsjaa (Framingham, Mass.) placed tenth with a time of 1:26.176. DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.) and Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.) were 12th in 1:26.290.

Dana Kellogg (Chesterfield, Mass.) and Frank Ike (Lititz, Pa.) crashed as they entered the end of their first run but made it over the finish line to secure a spot in the second heat. In the second run, the duo suffered another crash and did not finish.

The gold medal went to Germany’s Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt with a time of 1:25.599. In second was Austria’s Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl in 1:25.653, with teammates Juri Gatt and Ricardo Schoepf in third in 1:25.688.

Wendl and Arlt lead the World Cup overall standings with 368 points, followed by Gatt and Schoepf in second with 314, and Latvia’s Martins Bots and Roberts Plume in third with 307. Mueller and Haugsjaa are ninth with 211 points, DiGregorio and Hollander follow in 11th with 183, and Kellogg and Ike are 19th with 106.

Team Relay

Team USA began strong, with Britcher (Glen Rock, Pa.) and then Mueller and Haugsjaa pushing off with the second fastest starts in their disciplines. Gustafson (Massena, N.Y.) was up next and then Forgan and Kirkby, who had the fastest start, brought the team to the finish. Team USA placed fourth with a time of 3:13.289. The United States has placed no lower than fourth in the three races in which they've competed.

Germany won gold with a time of 3:12.106, with Austria second in 3:12.729. Italy was third in 3:12.834.

In overall World Cup standings, Austria is the leader with 355 points, Latvia is second with 270, and Germany is third with 255. The United States is seventh with 200 points.

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.
The World Cup circuit travels to Oberhof, Germany, for the next two weekends before the season breaks for the 2026 Winter Games. 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.