World Championships 2025, Whistler#
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USA fourth in mixed doubles event
WHISTLER, British Columbia, Canada—The World Championship debut of the mixed event was marked by a silver medal performance from Team USA’s Jonny Gustafson and Emily Sweeney.
The United States mixed doubles teams of Zack DiGregorio – Sean Hollander and Chevonne Forgan – Sophia Kirkby finished fourth in the opening competition of the 53rd FIL Luge World Championships. The team were .068 seconds off the podium.
The mixed event features two sleds; a man and a woman or a men’s doubles sled and a women’s doubles sled. In the singles competition, the male athlete takes his run like a normal trip down the track, but instead of the clock stopping at the traditional finish line, he strikes a pad hanging over the track, which opens the gate for the female athlete. The clock stops when she strikes the pad at the bottom of the track. Doubles follow the same format.
Mixed singles
Gustafson (Massena, N.Y.), a 2022 Olympian, and Sweeney (Lake Placid, N.Y.), a two-time Olympian, took advantage of consistency and speed. Gustafson’s run placed him in fifth, but with margins among the top male athletes so close, the duo was very much in contention when Sweeney hit the ice. She clocked the fastest heat among the women and delivered the silver medal.
“I knew we were going to do well,” said Gustafson. “I had Emily on the team, so I knew it was going to be good. We both laid down awesome runs and that’s all I was really hoping for. And whatever the results were is what they were, and happy to come away with the silver.”
“We’re walking away with a silver, so we’re pretty happy,” said Sweeney. “It’s a good warm-up going into the rest of racing this weekend.”
The duo clocked a time of 1 minute, 22.449 seconds. Sweeney won a bronze medal at the 2019 World Championship in singles competition, while this was Gustafson’s first World Championship podium appearance.
Three-time Olympian Tucker West (Lake Placid, N.Y.) teamed with Ashley Farquharson (Park City, Utah), a 2022 Olympian. Minor mistakes in the long run up to the finish pad cost the duo, who placed tenth in 1:22.975.
Germany won the race with Austria in third.
Mixed doubles
2022 Olympians DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.) and Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.) posted the fourth fastest time of the heat, followed up by two-time World Championship medalists Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Kirkby (Lake Placid, N.Y.) who posted the third fastest time in the heat. The team navigated the 2010 Olympic course in 1:23.059.
Temperatures in the mid-teens Fahrenheit made for hard, unforgiving conditions. The less experienced United States teams featuring Marcus Mueller (Brookfield, Wisc.) – Ansel Haugsjaa (Framingham, Mass.), and Maya Chan (Chicago, Ill.) – Sophia Gordon (Sussex, Wisc.) fell victim to their relative inexperience and hard ice. They placed 12th in 1:25.107.
Team Austria won the race, followed by Team Germany 1 taking silver, and Team Germany 2 with the bronze.
The World Championships continue tomorrow with the men’s and women’s doubles competition and women’s singles. On Saturday, February 8, men’s singles and the team relay will conclude the competition. All races can be seen on the FIL YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FILLuge_Channel
