Forgan and Kirkby set track record, take the silver medal at Sigulda World Cup

Sweeney leads USA women in fifth; Mueller/Haugsjaa eighth in men’s doubles  
 

SIGULDA, Latvia—The United States 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 in the second heat of the competition. 

Ashley Farquharson, Emily Sweeney and Summer Britcher placed fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, in the women’s race. 

In men’s doubles, Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa were the top U.S. sled, placing eighth. Their teammates, Zack DiGregorio and Sean Hollander finished ninth. 

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. “[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 (Park City, Utah) 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.  

World Cup newcomer Emma Erickson (Park City, Utah) was 22^nd in 42.415. As she was outside the top 20 in the first heat, she did not qualify for the second run. 

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. 

Men’s Doubles 

Reigning Junior World Champions Mueller (Brookfield, Wisc.) and Haugsjaa (Framingham, Mass.) continue to impress in their rookie season on the World Cup tour. The duo placed eighth in a time of 1:24.222, despite problems exiting curve 14 during their second run. 2022 Olympians DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.) and Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.), who also battled curve 14, were ninth in 1:24.417.  

Race winners Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt of Germany tied the record for World Cup victories in men’s doubles luge, with 54. Their time was 1:23.045. Martins Bots and Roberts Plume of Latvia were second in 1:23.146, with Austrians Yannick Mueller and Armin Frauscher third in 1:23.337.  

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.  

Mueller and Haugsjaa lead USA men’s doubles in ninth place with 150 points, just in front of teammates DiGregorio and Hollander in tenth with 145. Dana Kellogg (Chesterfield, Mass.) and Frank Ike (Lititz, Pa.) are out for the season. Kellogg underwent shoulder surgery and is recovering in Lake Placid at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. They have 58 points and hold 20th place. Bots and Plume lead with 316 points, in front of Toni Eggert and Florian Mueller of Germany with 295. Wendl and Arlt are third with 290. 

World Cup racing continues tomorrow in Sigulda with the men’s singles and team relay. To live stream the races and view archived competitions, please visit the FIL’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FILLuge_Channel. The entire World Cup and World Championship season can be accessed from this portal.