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Date: February 24, 2024
Contact: Lauren Howe, Phone 978-400-3036,
Farquharson leads U.S. team with fourth place finish in Sigulda World Cup
Forgan/Kirkby fifth, DiGregorio/Hollander sixth
SIGULDA, Latvia—The Eberspaecher Luge World Cup circuit kicked off in Sigulda today with athletes once again battling rain and warm temperatures resulting in the International Luge Federation adjusting the starting order in the women’s singles and men’s doubles races to level the fields.
Ashley Farquharson led the U.S. team today, finishing in fourth in women’s singles, with Chevonne Forgan/Sophia Kirkby and Zack DiGregorio/Sean Hollander leading the U.S. in their disciplines.
Women’s Singles
Farquharson kicked things off with an excellent first heat and was sitting in second place. A solid second run was slightly spoiled by a small mistake in the final curve that dropped her to fourth with a time of one minute 23.521 seconds.
“It was a really good race today and I was really happy with my run,” said Farquharson. “Unfortunately, I fell off the podium, but four is my lucky number this year and I’m not too mad about it.”
Farquharson, a 2022 Olympian, was .035 away from the bronze medal. She placed fourth three times during the ten events held this season and won the silver medal at the Lake Placid World Cup sprint event.
The exit of curve 14 on the Sigulda track is one of the most challenging on the World Cup circuit. A pair of highly accomplished U.S. athletes fell victim to it today. Three-time Olympian Emily Sweeney went high in curve 14 in the first heat and had to drop her feet to avoid hard contact with the walls, which scrubbed speed. Sweeney (Lake Placid, N.Y.) had a cleaner second run and finished the day in 12th place with a two-run combined time of 1:23.743. 2023 Lake Placid World Cup bronze medalist Summer Britcher, who placed second in yesterday’s Nations Cup qualifying race, was ninth going into the second heat, but hit the wall coming out of curve 14 on the second run. Britcher (Glen Rock, Pa.) landed in 13th place in 1:23.972.
As all three U.S sleds placed in the top 15, Farquharson, Sweeney and Britcher will compete in tomorrow’s sprint race.
In the race for gold, just .018 determined today’s winner, with Germany’s Anna Berreiter coming out on top in 1:23.405, followed by Latvia’s Elina Vitola in second with a time of 1:23.423. Julia Taubitz of Germany took the bronze in 1:23.486.
In the overall World Cup standings, Taubitz’s bronze was enough to clinch the season title for the fourth time in her career. She has 895 points with two more opportunities to add more this season. Berreiter and Austria’s Madeleine Egle are tied for second place with 672. Farquharson is bumped down to fifth from third place with 510 points, Sweeney is eighth with 477, and Britcher is 11th with 379.
Women’s Doubles
2024 World Championships bronze medalists Forgan/Kirkby were the only U.S. sled in today’s competition as teammates Maya Chan/Reannyn Weiler crashed during a training run this week, which resulted in injury. Chan (Chicago, Ill.)/Weiler (Whitesboro, N.Y.) traveled back to the U.S. and have completed their World Cup season.
Forgan/Kirkby had two solid runs today and finished in fifth place with a time of 1:26.135. The duo will race in tomorrow’s sprint.
Germany’s Jessica Degenhardt/Cheyenne Rosenthal took the gold medal with a time of 1:25.743, and secured a new start record in 1.619. Italy’s Andrea Voetter/Marion Oberhofer placed second in 1:25.828, and Germany’s Dajana Eitberger/Saskia Schirmer took the bronze in 1:25.851.
Voetter/Oberhofer and Degenhardt/Rosenthal are tied for the top overall World Cup points, with each team holding 795 points. In third place is Eitberger/Schirmer with 731. Forgan/Kirkby remain in fifth with 596 points, and Chan/Weiler have finished their season with 426.
Men’s Doubles
2024 Lake Placid World Cup gold medalists Zack DiGregorio/Sean Hollander were in third place going into the final heat, but lost speed at the start of their second run. DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.)/Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.) finished the day in sixth place with a time of 1:23.836.
U.S. teammates Dana Kellogg/Frank Ike maintained consistent runs across both heats. Kellogg (Chesterfield, Mass.)/Ike (Lititz, Pa.) landed in eighth place in 1:24.078.
Both U.S. sleds will race in tomorrow’s sprint competition.
It all came down to the final curve in the second heat for the gold, with .018 separating first and second place, the exact same margin as today’s women’s singles race. Latvia’s Martins Bots/Roberts Plume stood atop the podium in front of a home crowd with a time of 1:23.308 while Germany’s Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt took silver in 1:23.326. In third were Austria’s Thomas Steu/Wolfgang Kindl with a time of 1:23.582.
Steu/Kindl continue to lead the World Cup overall points with 841. Wendl/Arlt are second with 715, and Bots/Plume are third with 676. DiGregorio/Hollander bump down to ninth from eighth with 436, and Kellogg/Ike move up one spot from 11th to tenth with 320.
For more results from today’s races, visit fil-luge.org/en/multimedia/eberspaecher-world-cup-33
The Luge World Cup continues tomorrow, February 24 from Sigulda, Latvia, with the men’s singles and sprint races, and will feature the crystal globe ceremony for the season’s Sprint World Cup overall leaders. To live stream the races and to view archived competitions, please visit the FIL’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FILLuge_Channel. The entire World Cup and World Championship season can be accessed from this portal.
For more information on the Fastest Sport on Ice®, log on to www.ualuge.org.
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