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Date: February 17, 2024
Contact: Lauren Howe, Phone 978-400-3036,
Forgan/Kirkby set start record, finished sixth at Oberhof World Cup
West tenth, secures spot in Sprint race
OBERHOF, Germany—The Eberspaecher Luge World Cup continued to be affected with warmer temperatures in Germany, resulting in uncertainty with consistent track conditions. Leading up to this weekend’s races, the FIL (International Luge Federation) referred to the rule book and adjusted the starting order in the men’s singles and men’s doubles races to level the fields.
The United States women’s doubles team of Chevonne Forgan/Sophia Kirkby secured a new start record in the second heat.
Three-time Olympian Tucker West was the fastest U.S. men’s singles athlete, placing tenth and will be representing Team USA in the men’s singles Sprint race tomorrow.
Women’s Doubles
Due to the small field of teams in women’s doubles, no changes to the start rosters were made today and all 12 sleds will race in tomorrow’s Sprint competition.
2024 World Championships bronze medalists Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.)/Kirkby (Ray Brook, N.Y.) had two strong starts and secured a start record on the second run with a time of 7.625 seconds. The duo had some issues on the first run and finished the day in sixth place with a time of one minute 26.448 seconds.
Teammates and 2024 U23 World Championships silver medalists Maya Chan/Reannyn Weiler made some mistakes in the first heat but had a better start and nice lines in the second run. Chan (Chicago, Ill.)/Weiler (Whitesboro, N.Y.) were seventh with a time of 1:27.046.
Germany’s Dajana Eitberger/Saskia Schirmer won their first World Cup victory as a team, taking the gold medal in 1:25.889 and securing a track record with a time of 42.852. Just .001 separated the silver and bronze medals. Italy’s Andrea Voetter/Marion Oberhofer took the silver medal in 1:25.897, and Germany’s Jessica Degenhardt/Cheyenne Rosenthal were third in 1:25.898.
The top two overall World Cup leaders are separated by just five points, with Voetter/Oberhofer bumping out Degenhardt/Rosenthal from first place, with 640 and 635 points, respectively. Eitberger/Schirmer are in third with 576. Forgan/Kirkby remain in fifth with 486 points, and Chan/Weiler in sixth with 380.
Men’s Doubles
The top three teams from the Nations Cup kicked off the race today, starting in reverse order for the first run. The seeded groups and then teams who placed fourth and higher in the Nations Cup rounded out the start roster. Only those teams who placed first to 18th place in the first heat qualified to race in the second run today. The same format was utilized in the men’s singles competition.
2024 Lake Placid World Cup gold medalists Zack DiGregorio/Sean Hollander had a favorable start based on their second-place finish in the qualifying race. DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.)/Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.) threw down a strong first run, but skid off curve 13 in the second heat. They placed ninth with a time of 1:24.009.
U.S. teammates Dana Kellogg/Frank Ike continue to build momentum on their first year sliding as a team and had two of their fastest times of the season. Kellogg (Chesterfield, Mass.)/Ike (Lititz, Pa.) had a late entrance in curve nine and went high on curve ten on the second run. They placed 14th with a time of 1:24.687. Both teams secured a spot in the Sprint race tomorrow.
Austria’s Thomas Steu/Wolfgang Kindl took their third World Cup victory this season, earning the gold with a time of 1:23.333. Germany’s Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt took silver in 1:23.406, with teammates Hannes Orlamuender/Paul Gubitz in third in 1:23.452.
Steu/Kindl continue to lead the World Cup overall points with 686. Wendl/Arlt are second with 560, and Latvia’s Martins Bots/Roberts Plume are third with 530. DiGregorio/Hollander remain in eighth with 352, and Kellogg/Ike are 11th with 250.
Men’s Singles
West (Ridgefield, Conn.) landed in tenth place with a time of 1:26.712, securing a spot in tomorrow’s Sprint race. 2022 Olympian Jonny Gustafson (Messina, N.Y.) went late in curve 12 on the first run. He bounced back with a solid second run and finished the day in 19th with a time of 1:27.334. Teammate Hunter Harris (East Fairfield, Vt.) finished 23rd in 1:28.708.
Austria’s Jonas Mueller led most of the splits across both heats and took the gold medal in 1:26.003. Germany’s Max Langenhan won his second consecutive silver medal with a time of 1:26.109, and teammate Felix Loch took the bronze in 1:26.131.
Langenhan remains the World Cup points leader with 740. Mueller is in second with 579, and Latvia’s Kristers Aparjods is third with 525. West bumped Gustafson from ninth to tenth, with 308 and 298 points, respectively. Harris is in 19th with 148.
For more results from today’s World Cup races, visit fil-luge.org/en/multimedia/eberspaecher-world-cup-29.
The Luge World Cup continues tomorrow, February 18 from Oberhof, Germany, with the women’s singles and sprint races. 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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