Forgan and Kirkby secure third in overall World Cup, Farquharson fifth in women’s race

Forgan and Kirkby secure third in overall World Cup

Farquharson fifth in women’s race

YANQING, China—Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby clinched third place in the overall World Cup standings after placing fourth at the season finale. In the women’s competition, Ashley Farquharson, the lone United States entry in the event, placed fifth. All three athletes, like many on the World Cup tour, were impacted by stomach flu and missed a significant amount of training.  

Women’s doubles 

Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Kirkby (Lake Placid, N.Y.) traveled to the Yanqing sliding facility for the first time but missed valuable runs due to an illness running rampant through many of the national team rosters. Cold conditions with low grip levels on the ice made for an even greater challenge. The duo had costly errors in both runs, but managed to finish fourth in 2 minutes, 2.061 seconds. 

While most of the field struggled, Austrians Selina Egle and Lara Kipp wrapped up a near-perfect season with a convincing victory in 1:59.896. Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal of Germany were second in 2:01.721, with Anda Upite and Zane Kaluma of Latvia third in 2:01.862. 

Women’s singles 

Farquharson (Park City, Utah) returned to the site of her Olympic debut three years ago. Her two runs were similar, with near-perfect driving in the upper portion of the course and small mistakes in the final few curves. She crossed the finish line in 1:59.660.   

Germany’s Julia Taubitz won the race in 1:58.926. The win also secured her fifth-career World Cup title. Natalie Maag of Switzerland was second in 1:59.369, and Germany’s Merle Fraebel was third in 1:59.403.  

Final World Cup standings  

Forgan and Kirkby finished the nine-race World Cup tour in third place with 601 points. Egle and Kipp won the title with 835 points. Degenhardt and Rosenthal were second with 745 points. Americans Maya Chan (Chicago, Ill.) and Sophia Gordon (Sussex, Wisc.), who did not compete today, finished 12th with 165 points. 

Farquharson wrapped up her season ranked seventh with 400 points. Emily Sweeney (Lake Placid, N.Y.) was 13th with 293 points, just ahead of Summer Britcher (Glen Rock, Pa.) in 14th with 266 points. Emma Erickson (Park City, Utah,) was 25th with 128 points. 

Taubitz secured her title with 657 points, ahead of Austria’s Madeleine Egle in second with 629. Lisa Schulte of Austria was third with 620. 

Racing resumes tomorrow with the men’s doubles, men’s singles and team relay. All races can be seen of the FIL YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FILLuge_Channel

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