Farquharson places in top ten in Oberhof World Cup

OBERHOF, Germany—Following the final Olympic qualification races in Winterberg, Germany last weekend, a contingent of USA Luge athletes continues to race on the World Cup circuit before the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 begin in less than three weeks' time.  

American Ashley Farquharson led the team today in Oberhof, placing in the top ten in women’s singles while Jonny Gustafson was the top men’s singles sled. 

Women’s singles 

Following the first run, 2022 Olympian Farquharson (Park City, Utah) and Summer Britcher were in 12th and 13th places, respectively. Farquharson found speed in the second heat and finished ninth with a time of one minute 23:458 seconds. Britcher (Glen Rock, Pa.) was 13th with a time of 1:23.811.  

Emily Fischnaller (Lake Placid, N.Y.) is not racing in Oberhof, opting to train in St. Mortiz before heading to Cortina. 

The gold medal went to Merle Fraebel of Germany with a time of 1:22.867. In second place was Lisa Schulte of Austria in 1:23.146, and Switzerland’s Natalie Maag was third in 1:23.148.  

In the World Cup overall standings, Schulte and Germany’s Julia Taubitz are tied for first place with 379 points. In third place is Hannah Prock of Austria with 373. Britcher is fourth with 355 points and Farquharson is ninth with 259. Fischnaller is tied for 18th place with Latvia’s Zane Kaluma with 123 points, and Erickson is 34th with 62. Erickson is not currently with the team, as only the Olympic team is traveling on the circuit, and she is not expected to race again this season. 

Men’s singles 

2022 Olympian Gustafson (Massena, N.Y.) and Matt Greiner made mistakes in both runs today, placing 19th and 20th, respectively, in both heats. Gustafson finished the day with a time of 1:26.271, followed by Greiner (Park City, Utah) with a time of 1:26.467.  

Jonas Mueller of Austria won the race with a time of 1:24.549, followed by Germany’s Felix Loch in second in 1:24.640, and teammate Max Langenhan third in 1:24.824. 

Mueller leads the overall World Cup standings with 530 points. Loch is second with 516, and Langenhan third with 435. Gustafson is 11th with 182 points, Greiner is 24th with 95, West is 28th with 76 points and Hunter Harris (East Fairfield, Vt.) is 33rd with 60 points. Like Erickson, West and Harris are not traveling with the team and not expected to compete again this season. 

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 continues tomorrow from Oberhof with the men’s and women’s doubles races and the team relay. 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.