Community encouraged to attend; opportunity to try the start ramp following races

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - The nation's top luge athletes will gather at the USA Luge refrigerated indoor start training complex on Friday, September 13. At stake will be the annual start championship title. The competitions will take place at the USA Luge headquarters at 57 Church Street in Lake Placid at 6 PM ET.

The public is invited to attend and will have a chance to ride down the ramp after the awards ceremony for a $20 donation to support the athletes and programs of USA Luge.

Three-time Olympian Tucker West (Lake Placid, N.Y.) hopes to add a record 12^th title to his resume. Consistently one of the top ranked athletes at the start globally for the past decade, West will face competition from 2022 Olympian Jonny Gustafson (Massena, N.Y.) and Hunter Harris (East Fairfield, Vt.). Two-time Junior World Championship medalist Matt Greiner (Park City, Utah) will compete in his first competition as a member of the National Team, having recently graduated from the junior ranks. Junior National Team athletes Aidan Mueller (West Islip, N.Y.) and Logan Barnes (Clarksville, Tenn.) will also compete.

The top slot in the women’s race appears to be a contest between Summer Britcher (Glen Rock, Pa.) and Emily Sweeney (Lake Placid, N.Y.). Britcher, a three-time Olympian, has won seven titles since 2015, while World Championship bronze medalist Sweeney last took the title in 2021. That won’t stop challengers Ashley Farquharson (Park City, Utah), the top ranked U.S. athlete in women’s World Cup, and Junior Team graduate Emma Erickson (Park City, Utah).

Doubles is expected to feature the reigning World Championship bronze medal winners Chevonne Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Sophia Kirkby (Ray Brook, N.Y.). The newly formed duo of Maya Chan (Chicago, Il.) and Sophia Gordon (Sussex, Wisc.) will not be competing, as Gordon recovers from oral surgery. Chan competed with Reannyn Weiler (Whitesboro, N.Y.) starting in 2018, winning three World Cup medals as a duo.

Chan may decide to compete with a temporary teammate for the event. That decision will be made in the coming days.

Lake Placid World Cup gold medalists Zack DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.) and Sean Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.) are expected to be challenged by reigning Junior World Champions Marcus Mueller (Brookfield, Wisc.) and Ansel Haugsjaa (Framingham, Mass.) in men’s doubles. World Championship team relay silver medalists Dana Kellogg (Chesterfield, Mass.) and Frank Ike (Lititz, Pa.) will also be contending. The Junior National Team duo of Barnes/Gavin Davis (Berwick, Pa.) will also compete.

The start championship format will consist of three heats, with the winners earning the lowest combined times. The first two heats will be traditional starts and the third will be a reaction start, as used in the team relay event.

Held annually in late summer and early fall, the competition marks the countdown to the teams' return to the ice in preparation for the EBERSPAECHER World Cup Series. The first World Cup event will take place in Lillehammer, Norway, November 30-December 1, 2024.

USA Luge Start Competition set for September 13 in Lake Placid

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