It's third place in the Team Relay for the USA Luge racers in Europe. Photo: USA Luge

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.

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 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.

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 touchpad, 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.

Junior National Team member Matt Greiner (Park City, Utah) made his World Cup debut with two solid runs, placing 18^th with a time of 1:45.344. Greiner is in 31^st overall this World Cup season with 23 points.

Farquharson said to a USA Luge reporter,  “I’m really happy with the relay run today. And I’m really happy that we came down with a medal.”

EBERSPÄCHER Luge World Cup action continues January 13-14 in Innsbruck, Austria. The World Championships are slated to take place in Altenberg, Germany on Jan. 27-28. 