Local athletes Sophia Kirkby and Chevonne Forgan Among Contenders as Women’s Doubles Prepares for Olympic Debut

Tickets on Sale | Media Credentials

The New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (Olympic Authority) will host the Eberspächer International Luge Federation (FIL) Luge World Cup on December 19-20 at the newly renovated track at Mt Van Hoevenberg. The event marks the third stop of the World Cup season and is a key qualifying opportunity for athletes seeking to secure positions at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games.

The world’s best luge racers will compete for podium positions and points toward the overall World Cup season standings in men’s and women’s singles and doubles, as well as mixed team relays. USA Luge athletes Sophia Kirkby and Chevonne Forgan are among the top contenders in women’s doubles luge, a discipline set to make its Olympic debut at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina.

Kirkby, a native of Ray Brook, N.Y., and Forgan, who lives and trains in Lake Placid, have established themselves among the world’s leading women’s doubles teams since the event’s introduction at the World Cup level in 2022. The pair earned bronze medals at both the 2022 and 2024 FIL World Championships and opened last season with a World Cup victory in Lillehammer, Norway, on their way to a third-place overall finish in the standings.

The inclusion of women’s doubles in the Olympic program reflects FIL’s ongoing commitment to gender equality in the sport. The discipline will also be incorporated into the Olympic team relay event in 2026.

The Lake Placid World Cup is one of five races on the 2025–2026 FIL World Cup calendar where U.S. athletes can earn points toward Olympic qualification. The season begins December 5 in Innsbruck, Austria, followed by events in Park City, Utah, and Lake Placid, before concluding with final qualification races in Sigulda, Latvia, and Winterberg, Germany.

As the headquarters of USA Luge, Lake Placid provides American athletes a valuable opportunity to compete on their home track at Mt Van Hoevenberg, just months ahead of the Olympic Games.

U.S. Athletes to Watch

    • Emily (Sweeney) Fischnaller (Lake Placid, N.Y.), two-time Olympian who won bronze medals at the 2019 and 2025 FIL World Championships and has collected 29 World Cup and World Championships medals during her career.
    • Ashley Farquharson (Park City, Utah), three-time World Cup relay medalist who was the top-ranked U.S. singles woman in last season’s overall standings.
    • Summer Britcher (Glen Rock, Pa.), a three-time Olympian with five career World Cup singles victories, the most in USA Luge history.
    • Three-time Olympian Tucker West (Lake Placid, N.Y.) and 2022 Olympian Jonny Gustafson (Massena, N.Y.) led USA Luge in the men’s singles World Cup standings last season. West has earned three career World Cup victories, 10 World Cup medals (including two golds and two silvers in singles at Mt Van Hoevenberg) and a record 13 National Norton Start Championships titles.
    • Zack DiGregorio (Medway, Mass.) and Sean Hollander (Lake Placid, N.Y.), 2022 Olympians who placed 10th overall in the last season’s men’s doubles standings.

Top International Athletes

    • Julia Taubitz (Germany), the reigning overall World Cup champion in women’s singles.
    • Max Langenhan (Germany), defending men’s singles World Cup champion, and Felix Loch (Germany), a three-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time World Champion.
    • Selina Egle and Lara Michaela Kipp (Austria), the dominant team in women’s doubles with seven wins in the last eight World Cup events last season.
    • Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt (Germany), the three-time defending Olympic gold medalists in men’s doubles.

The Eberspächer FIL World Cup season consists of nine stops, concluding March 6-8 in Altenberg, Germany. The Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Winter Games will take place February 6-22.

Media Contact: Morgan Ryan, [email protected]