Wasatch Luge’s Farquharson top 5 in luge in Latvia world cup

USA's Forgan and Kirkby in second in womens doubles luge in world cup in Sigulda, Latvia. Their national team teammates from Park City placed in the top 5 and top 25, respectively. Photo: International Luge Federation (FIL) // courtesy of USA Luge

SIGULDA, Latvia — USA Luge’s doubles team of Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby earned their third medal in four World Cup races this season. The duo placed second and established a track record on Saturday in the second heat of the competition. 

Ashley Farquharson of Park City’s Wasatch Luge Club, Emily Sweeney and Summer Britcher placed fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, in the women’s race. Wasatch Luge Club’s Emma Erickson, a world cup newcomer from Park City was 22^nd.

Women’s Doubles 

Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Kirkby (Lake Placid, N.Y.) sat in third place after the first of two heats following problems midway through their run. The duo bounced back with a track record of 42.106 seconds, and took the silver medal in 1 minute, 24.599 seconds. 

“We’re really happy with our runs today,” said Forgan to USA Luge. “[On the] first run, we had a few places that we wanted to improve upon, so we definitely did in the second run. We had a long and difficult week of training, so we’re really happy to be able to throw down on race day.”  

“It was a difficult week here,” added Kirkby. “It was really testing our limits if we could actually do the sport, but clearly, we can! We just threw down a track record, which means out of all of the runs where women’s doubles [have taken place], we pulled the fastest run here in Latvia Sigulda! And we can’t do it without our sponsors. Thank you, Dermatone for this gorgeous glitter that we wear on race day. And of course, thank you, Norton, Dow U.S. Venture, Karbon, Team Worldwide, and White Castle.” 

Forgan and Kirkby had the two fastest start times of the race, coming within .011 of their own start record, established March of 2024.  

Selina Egle and Lara Kipp of Austria won the race in 1:24.483. Latvians Marta Robezniece and Kitija Bogdanova placed third in 1:24.894.  

Women’s Singles 

Farquharson showed blinding speed, but small mistakes kept her off the podium. She held the first and second spots at various points in both heats. She finished fifth in 1:23.424.  

Much like her teammate Farquharson, Sweeney (Lake Placid, N.Y.) also showed speed, but minor mistakes chipped away at the two-time Olympian’s time. Her final run was the second fastest of the heat. Her finish time was 1:23.434 in sixth place. 

Five-time World Cup winner and three-time Olympian Summer Britcher (Glen Rock, Pa.) has not had an easy relationship with the Sigulda track in the past. That was not the case today, as she posted two runs that were virtually mistake-free. Her seventh-place finish time was 1:23.444.  

Latvia’s Elina Bota won the race, the third victory in her career, with a time of 1:23.280. Germany’s Merle Fraebel was second in 1:23.344, and Austrian Lisa Schulte was third in 1:23.345.   

Overall World Cup Standings 

In women’s doubles, Forgan and Kirkby sit in second place with 310 points, 40 points behind leaders Egle and Kipp with 350. Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal of Germany sit in third with 305 points. Maya Chan (Chicago, Ill.) and Sophia Gordon (Sussex, Wisc.) are competing in select races this season and did not race in Sigulda. They rank 13^th with 39 points. 

In women’s singles, Sweeney holds sixth place with 195 points, Farquharson is seventh with 173, and Britcher is 10^th with 170. Erickson holds 21^st with 76 points. Schulte leads with 295 points; Germany’s Julia Taubitz is second with 294 and Madeline Egle of Austria is third with 259.