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Date: February 3, 2024
Contact: Lauren Howe, Phone 978-400-3036,
Forgan/Kirkby fourth, Kellogg/Ike secure best-ever World Cup result in Altenberg
West seventh in men’s singles race
ALTENBERG, Germany—Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby were the top ranked U.S. sled in today’s World Cup luge event, finishing in fourth place, just .005 seconds from the podium. The U.S. men’s doubles team of Dana Kellogg/Frank Ike had a career-best sixth place in their first season together. Tucker West placed seventh in a wild, weather-impacted men’s singles race.
Women’s Doubles
It was a nail-biting fight for the podium, with just .066 seconds between the second to sixth place finishers.
2024 World Championships bronze medalists Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.)/Kirkby (Ray Brook, N.Y.) just narrowly missed the bronze despite having the fastest start in the second heat. They finished in fourth place with a time of one minute 25:552.
“It was a really close race today here in Altenberg,” said Forgan. “We finished .005 off the podium, and I think it was .014 off second [place] so it was really close. Our second run was definitely a lot better than our first, so we are glad to finish on a good note.”
“Like Chevonne said, it was a close race,” added Kirkby. “After the first run, the top six were all within .0089 and then it was just a close race. Like always, we’d like to thank our sponsors, Norton, Team Worldwide, US Venture, White Castle, [Dow] and Karbon.”
U.S. teammates Maya Chan/Reannyn Weiler hit the wall and skid out of the 360-degree Krisel corner on their first run and had problems in curve 13 in the second heat. Chan (Chicago, Ill.)/Weiler (Whitesboro, N.Y.) placed 11th in 1:29.883.
Italy’s Andrea Voetter/Marion Oberhofer won gold in 1:25.337. Latvia’s Anda Upite/Kitija Bogdanova set a start record with a time of 5.910 and took the silver medal in 1:25.538. Germany’s Dajana Eitberger/Saskia Schirmer placed third in 1:25.548.
Voetter/Oberhofer lead the overall World Cup standings with 470 points, followed by Germany’s Jessica Degenhardt/Cheyenne Rosenthal in second with 465, and Eitberger/Schirmer in third with 416. Forgan/Kirkby are in fifth with 390 points, and Chan/Weiler in sixth with 284.
Men’s Singles
One of the biggest comebacks in recent memory was made by Germany’s Max Langenhan. He was in 21st place following a major mistake in curve nine in the first heat. With reverse start order based on first heat rankings for run number two, the 2024 World Champion was able to get on the track much earlier, giving him an advantage as ice conditions deteriorated later in the competition. Langenhan’s season has been near-perfect, winning all World Cup races this season, except for the Igls, Austria competition. He took the gold medal in 1:51.162.
The silver medal went to Austria’s David Gleirscher with a time of 1:51.283, with Latvia’s Kristers Aparjods in third in 1:51.289.
Three-time Olympian West led the U.S. men today, finishing in seventh place with a time of 1:51.559. As usual, West (Ridgefield, Conn.) set the fastest start times in both heats. Despite slow conditions, he was just .037 off the start record established in 2015. 2022 Olympian Jonny Gustafson (Messina, N.Y.) placed 11th in 1:51.791. Hunter Harris (East Fairfield, Vt.) continued his debut World Cup season, placing 18th in 1:52.261.
Langenhan remains the World Cup points leader with 570. Austria’s Jonas Mueller is in second with 419, with teammate Nico Gleirscher in third with 373. Gustafson is ninth with 242, West in tenth with 236, and Harris in 18th with 110.
Men’s Doubles
Coming off their World Championships silver medal in team relay last weekend, Kellogg (Chesterfield, Mass.)/Ike (Lititz, Pa.) continued their upward trajectory for the U.S team.
“We were sixth place here in Altenberg and it’s our top finish,” said Kellogg. “The race went pretty good, and we had some small mistakes that we can clean up for tomorrow, but overall, it went really well.”
“Like Dana said, it’s our top finish and I’m really pleased with it,” added Ike. “I’m hoping we can clean it up tomorrow. Getting another medal in the team relay would be awesome, so hoping we can bring it home.”
Kellogg/Ike finished with a time of 1:25.362.
2022 Olympians Zack DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.)/Sean Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.) placed 11th with a time of 1:25.541.
The gold medal went to Thomas Gatt/Martin Schoepf of Austria in 1:24.991, with the silver going to their teammates Thomas Steu/Wolfgang Kindl in 1:24.999. In third was Italy’s Emanuel Rieder/Simon Kainzwaldner in 1:25.116, marking their first podium appearance of the season.
Steu/Kindl continue to lead the World Cup overall points chase with 485. Martins Bots/Roberts Plume of Latvia are second with 410, and Germany’s Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt are in third with 405 points.
DiGregorio/Hollander dropped from sixth to eighth with 274, and Kellogg/Ike jumped two spots into 11th with 198.
For complete results from Altenberg, visit fil-luge.org/en/multimedia/eberspaecher-world-cup-30
The EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup continues tomorrow, February 4, Altenberg, Germany, with the women’s singles and team relay. 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.usaluge.org.
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