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Date: January 7, 2024
Contact: Lauren Howe, Phone 978-400-3036,
Team USA takes bronze in Winterberg team relay
Germany’s Langenhan wins tenth consecutive World Cup
WINTERBERG, Germany—For the second time in as many races, Team USA earned a bronze medal in the EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup relay, concluding the weekend competitions in Winterberg.
The United States squad consisted of 2022 Olympians Ashley Farquharson, Zack DiGregorio/Sean Hollander and Jonny Gustafson, and 2023 Lake Placid World Cup bronze medalists Chevonne Forgan/Sophie Kirkby. The team was among the strongest in a field wrought with crashes and missed paddles.
Team Relay
It was a mirror image podium of the Whistler relay held in December, with Germany, Austria and Team USA taking the top spots.
Prior to the United States hitting the ice, medal contending teams from Italy and Latvia crashed out of the race. The Romanian team failed to hit the touch pad, resulting in a disqualification.
Farquharson (Park City, Utah) was the first sled for USA Luge, setting the tone for the team by posting the second fastest time for women in the competition. DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.)/Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Gustafson (Massena, N.Y.) and Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.)/Kirkby (Ray Brook, N.Y.) continued the work and secured the bronze with a time of three minutes 12.676 seconds.
The German relay team, led by Anna Berreiter, Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt, Max Langenhan and Jessica Degenhardt/Cheyenne Rosenthal secured their second consecutive gold medal in relay, crossing the finish in 3:11.425. Hannah Prock, Thomas Gatt/Martin Schoepf, Jonas Mueller and Selina Egle/Lara Kipp gave Team Austria the silver with a time of 3:11.468.
Men’s Singles
Germany’s Max Langenhan remains untouchable, securing his tenth consecutive World Cup victory and his fourth consecutive gold medal this season. The Winterberg track record holder crossed the finish line in 1:43.695.
Gustafson was the top finishing American, placing tenth with a time of 1:44.579. Although teammate and three-time Olympian Tucker West (Ridgefield, Conn.) had the fastest starts in both heats, he struggled to find speed on the lower part of the track and finished the day in 14th place in 1:44.875.
Junior National Team member Matt Greiner (Park City, Utah) made his World Cup debut with two solid runs, placing 18th with a time of 1:45.344. Hunter Harris (East Fairfield, Vt.) failed to qualify and did not race.
Joining Langenhan on the podium was Italy’s Dominik Fischnaller, who placed second in 1:43.871. The bronze medal went to recently crowned Latvian national champion Kristers Asparjods with a time of 1:43.877.
Langenhan continues his perfect World Cup overall point standing with 400. Austria’s Jonas Mueller is second with 280 and teammate Nico Gleirscher is third with 246. Gustafson leads the U.S. men in eighth place with 169 points and West is just behind in ninth with 162. Harris is in 19th with 74 and Greiner is 31st with 23 points.
USA Luge relay squad reactions:
Ashley Farquharson: “I’m really happy with the relay run today. And I’m really happy that we came down with a medal.”
Sean Hollander: “It was a fun relay. We had Ashley here and Jonny here which is new for us, so it was fun and good runs.”
Zack DiGregorio: “We had some problems down below, but it was enough to get us on the podium today.”
Chevonne Forgan: “We were super excited to race [in the] team relay again. We had a big skid at the bottom, but I’m glad we are still on the podium and I’m happy for us.”
Sophie Kirkby: “It was good to bring home another medal for Team USA and we’ll try to keep the momentum going.”
Johnny Gustafson: “It was my first relay in the awhile. And we got a medal, so a win is a win is a win.”
For more results on the 2023-2024 World Cup season, visit fil-luge.org/en/multimedia/eberspaecher-world-cup-28.
EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup action continues January 13-14 in Innsbruck, Austria. The World Championships are slated to take place in Altenberg, Germany on January 27-28. 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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