Sitka Creations is a sponsor of the USA Luge team.
Date: January 27, 2024
Contact: Lauren Howe, Phone 978-400-3036,
Forgan/Kirkby win women’s doubles bronze medal; tie start and track records at FIL World Championships
West fourth in men’s singles;
Chan/Weiler take silver, Muller/Haugsjaa bronze in U23 Championships
ALTENBERG, Germany—The United States doubles team of Chevonne Forgan/Sophie Kirkby won their second career World Championship bronze medal, tying the start and track records while doing so.
Three-time Olympian Tucker West just missed the podium, finishing his day in fourth place.
In the 11th FIL U23 World Championships, Maya Chan/Reannyn Weiler took silver, and the men’s doubles team of Marcus Mueller/Ansel Haugsjaa won the bronze. The U23 competition serves as a race within the general class World Championship.
Women’s Doubles
Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.)/Kirkby (Ray Brook, N.Y.) had a minor problem in the upper portion of the track on their first run but came back with a stellar second heat, securing a spot on the podium with a time of 1:24.897. Latvia’s Anda Upite/Zara Kaluma set the record in a time of 42.334 in the first heat. Forgan/Kirkby kicked off their second run by tying the start record of 5.925 set by Italy’s Andrea Voetter/Marion Oberhofer in 2023. The pair continued their way down the track, tying the track record set by the Latvians earlier in the day. Forgan/Kirkby also won bronze at the 2022 World Championships in Winterberg, Germany.
“We had such a good race,” said Forgan. “We finished in third place for World Championships here in Altenberg. We had a small problem on the first run with a pretty rough start curve, but the second run we managed to clean it up and put down a really solid run and get on the podium.”
“That second run was solid,” added Kirkby. “It felt so good to get the bronze medal here in Altenberg, Germany for World Champs and it just means a lot. And we couldn’t do it without our sponsors! I’d like to thank Norton, U.S. Venture, Dow, Team Worldwide, White Castle, thank you so much!”
Chan (Chicago, Ill.)/Weiler (Whitesboro, N.Y.) finished their World Championships in fifth place, with a time of 1:25.158. Before yesterday’s fourth place finish in the sprint event, the duo had been on a five-race run of sixth place finishes, suggesting an upward path. The result also earned the duo a second-place finish in the U23 World Championships.
Austria’s Selina Egle/Lara Kipp won the gold medal with a time of 1:24.761, with yesterday’s sprint World Champions Upite/Kaluma taking silver in 1:24.811. Defending World Champions and the favorites going into today’s race, Germany’s Jessica Degenhardt/Cheyenne Rosenthal did not have a clean first run and hit the wall coming out of curve nine, finishing the day in 13th place in 1:28.840.
Men’s Singles
West (Ridgefield, Conn.) led the United States men’s team, finishing in fourth place with a time of 1:48.695. Three-time Olympian West just missed the start record by .006 on his second run. Today’s result matches his season high placing in the Lake Placid World Cup. West was .065 behind the bronze medal.
“We just finished World Championships here and I ended up in fourth place, which I’m really excited about,” said West. “Both runs were pretty good. The first run had a little bobble at the start but then I cleaned it up on the second run. We are coming from a tough week of training and trying to find the right set up. We found it pretty last minute, and all and all it worked out, and I’m excited for the relay tomorrow.”
West’s teammate and 2022 Olympian Jonny Gustafson, a top ten finisher in every World Cup event in the 2023-24 season, placed in ninth with a time of 1:49.080. Hunter Harris placed 27th in his World Championship debut.
With eight World Cup gold medals over the season, Germany’s Max Langenhan once again stood atop the podium as 2024 World Champion with a time of 1:47.813. Austria’s Nico Gleirscher took the silver medal in 1:48.574. Germany’s Felix Loch, the most decorated luge athlete at the World Championships with six gold and three silver medals, added to his collection by placing third in 1:48.630.
Men’s Doubles
With five different winners across the World Cup races this season, the men’s doubles race was a toss-up, but Austria continued to remain strong, taking the top two spots on the podium.
Dana Kellogg/Frank Ike placed ninth in their first World Championships as a doubles team with a time of 1:24.020. Their teammates Mueller (Brookfield, Wisc.)/Haugsjaa (Framingham, Mass.) finished in 13th in 1:24.144 and took the bronze medal in the U23 World Championships.
2022 Olympians Zack DiGregorio/Sean Hollander have been struggling to get back on form since their gold medal at the Lake Placid World Cup. DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.)/Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.) had a tough first run and finished 21st.
Yesterday’s Sprint World Champions Thomas Gatt/Martin Schoepf of Austria won gold in 1:22.924, with their teammates Thomas Steu/Wolfgang Kindl taking the silver in 1:22.970. Three-time Olympic champions Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt of Germany placed third with a time of 1:23.279.
For more results on the 2023-2024 World Cup season, visit fil-luge.org/en/multimedia/fil-world-championships-10
FIL World Championship action continues tomorrow in Altenberg, Germany, with women’s singles and the 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.
# # #
