Altenberg World Cup 24-25#
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Mueller and Haugsjaa sixth in men’s doubles
ALTENBERG, Germany—Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby finished third today in World Cup women’s doubles action. The duo has appeared on the podium in four of the five World Cup events held this season and are ranked third in the overall standings.
The U.S. men’s doubles team of Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa posted their best-ever result finishing sixth.
In the men’s singles race, Jonny Gustafson was the top U.S. finisher in 13th.
Women’s doubles
Like many sleds today, Forgan (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Kirkby (Ray Brook, N.Y.) dealt with issues out of curve nine. The duo gently tapped the right wall on the exit of the corner in their second run. The two-time World Championship medalists won the bronze with a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 25.633 seconds.
“We had a good first run in our race today and some small problems in our second run,” said Forgan. “But we managed to get on the podium with third place, which we are really happy about.”
Kirkby added, “(An) exciting day here in Altenberg, Germany! It was quite snowy, which did affect the track with snow blowing in there. But overall, we did a great job, and I thought we put in some good efforts.”
Maya Chan (Chicago, Ill.) and Sophia Gordon (Sussex, Wisc.), a newly formed team competing at select events, were eighth in 1:26.309.
Since Forgan and Kirkby’s win at the first race of the year in Lillehammer, Norway, Austrians Selina Egle and Lara Kipp have been unbeaten. The duo won today’s competition in 1:25.077. Germany’s Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal were second in 1:25.474.
Men’s doubles
At ages 19 and 20 respectively, Mueller (Brookfield, Wisc.) and Haugsjaa (Framingham, Mass.) are a team on the rise. The reigning Junior World Champions are competing in their first full World Cup season and today posted a career-best result. The duo made several small but costly mistakes today, indicating that their true potential has yet to be unlocked. Their sixth-place time was 1:24.405.
2022 Olympians Zack DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.) and Sean Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.) placed eighth in 1:24.691.
Martins Bots and Roberts Plume of Latvia won the race in 1:23.900. Germany’s Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt were second in 1:24.023, with Yannick Mueller and Armin Frauscher of Austria third in 1:24.031.
Men’s singles
Gustafson (Massena, N.Y.), a 2022 Olympian, had significant problems on his first run, but bounced back with the 10th fastest heat of the race. His time was 1:49.804. His teammate Tucker West (Lake Placid, N.Y.), a three-time Olympian, was 17th after a difficult race. His time was 1:50.343.
Hunter Harris (East Fairfield, Vt.) was 27th in 56.763. Only the top 20 sleds advance to the second heat.
Max Langenhan and Felix Loch led a Germany 1-2 finish, with times of 1:48.210 and 1:48.440, respectively. Dominik Fischnaller of Italy, a podium regular in years past, earned his first medal of the season by finishing third in 1:48.609.
World Cup standings
In women’s doubles, Egle and Kipp lead with 450 points. Degenhardt and Rosenthal are second with 390 points, 10 points in front of Forgan and Kirkby with 380. Chan and Gordon, competing in their second event of the season, are ranked 13th with 81 points.
Mueller and Haugsjaa hold ninth place with 200 points in men’s doubles, while DiGregorio and Hollander are tenth with 187. Dana Kellogg (Chesterfield, Mass.) and Frank Ike (Lititz, Pa.) are out for the season after Kellogg injured his shoulder at the second race of the season. They sit in 21st place with 58 points.
Bots and Plume lead the points chase with 416. Wendl and Arlt are second with 375, and Toni Eggert and Florian Mueller of Germany are third with 341 points.
In men’s singles, Gustafson holds 11th place with 166 points and West is 14th with 142. Aidan Mueller (West Islip, N.Y.) did not qualify to compete today and holds 27th place with 60 points. Matt Greiner (Park City, Utah) did not race today due to an injury and sits in 29th place with 52 points. Harris, competing in select events, is 40th with 14 points.
Nico Gleirscher of Austria holds the lead with 386 points, with Langenhan second with 371 and Loch third with 315.
Racing resumes tomorrow in Altenberg, Germany, with women’s singles and the team relay. Both events, along with the entire FIL World Cup and World Championship season, can be seen at The FIL YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FILLuge_Channel
