PARK CITY, Utah — While the World Cup gets ready to kick off this weekend in Lake Placid, the future stars of luge hit the ice a week in advance. Park City and Winterberg, Germany, hosted double headers in Junior and Youth competitions, respectively.

Under the backdrop of forward progress in the effort to host the 2034 Olympic Winter Games, the Park City Junior World Cup featured athletes aged 19-21 competing in four disciplines.

In the first men’s race, Marco Leger of Germany took first place, Timon Grancagnolo of Germany was second and Matt Greiner of Park City, Utah was third. Aidan Mueller of West Islip was fourth, and Logan Barnes of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, did not finish. The second competition saw Grancagnolo winning, Greiner in second and Muller in third. Barnes placed ninth.

Embry-Lee Susko of Canada took gold in the first women’s race, while Dorothea Schwarz of Austria grabbed the silver. Bronze went to Alina Brautigam of Germany. Emma Erickson of Park City, Utah, placed fifth; Sophia Gordon of Sussex, Wisconsin was 10th; Delaney Duncan of Park City, Utah earned 11th; and Macey Schomaker of Park City, Utah placed 12th. Susko repeated her victory in the second race, with Erickson hitting the podium in second place. Canada’s Midori Holland was third, Gordon took 11th, Duncan placed 12th and Schomaker finished in 13th.

In men’s doubles, the top three places were occupied by the same three sleds in the same order of finish in both races. Both gold medals went to Moritz Jaeger and Valentin Steudte of Germany, the silvers went to Marcus Mueller of Brookfield, Wisconsin and Ansel Haugsjaa of Framingham, Massachusetts, and the bronze medals went to Pascal Kunze/Max Trippner of Germany. Logan Barnes and Gavin Davis of Berwick, Pennsylvania, were fifth in both competitions.

The team competition saw Germany take the gold in the first race and the United States victorious in the second. The Americans, featuring Erickson, Greiner and the Mueller/Haugsjaa duo, took silver in the first event, while the German team did not finish race two. In race number one, a mixed team from Austria and Ukraine finished in the bronze medal position. Canada was second, and the mixed team of Austria and Ukraine finished third in race two.

Meanwhile, the Youth Continental Cup, with athletes under the age of 18, began its campaign in Winterberg, Germany.

The doubles team of Sadie Martin of Vermontville and Hayden Bunker of West Farmington, Ohio placed ninth and sixth in their two women’s doubles events. The men’s doubles team of Nathan Bivins of Castleton and Wolfgang Lux of Swanton, Vermont placed ninth and did not finish in their two efforts.

Seth Coates of Potsdam led the men’s singles team for the United States with 15th and 13th-place efforts. Orson Colby of Riverton, Utah, finished 18th and 15th, while Josh Berzowski of Pulaski, Wisconsin, was 20th and 18th in his two races. Elizabeth Kleinheinz of Santa Clara, California, placed 18th and did not finish in her second women’s singles race, while Talia Tonn of Cecil, Wisconsin ranked 27th and 26th. Adeline Albert completed her comeback to luge racing after a heavy crash last season by placing 32nd and 27th.