Since then Britcher, the all-time USA Luge women’s singles leader for World Cup victories, has recorded just four podium finishes.

But on Saturday morning, everything seemed to click when the 29-year-old crossed the finish line in third place in a two-run time of 1 minute, 29.147 seconds.

“It’s had a tough couple of years since I’ve been on the podium,” she said. “I’ve been working really hard. Our whole staff, coaches and everybody has been working really hard. I’ve got some family and some friends cheering me on here today, so it’s really special to be on the podium here in Lake Placid.”

Austria’s Madeline Egle won gold in 1:28.710, while Germany’s Julia Taubitz was second in 1:28.898.

“I’m relieved that I got a medal because they came all the way out here,” Britcher said. “Now they get to celebrate with me tonight instead of me being really moody, so it’s a lot more fun for them. It’s a lot more bang for their buck.”

Heading into the second run, Britcher held a fifth-place position, trailing Egle, Taubitz and her American teammates Ashley Farquharson and Emily Sweeney. While Britcher had just the sixth-fastest second run, her efforts solidified a medal finish.

“I thought I kind of overdrove my sled (on the first run) and made some mistakes that I wouldn’t normally make,” she said. “It was all about finding that sweet spot.”

Farquharson missed out on her career singles medal, placing fourth in 1:29.147 — her best career World Cup finish in singles racing.

“Obviously, Ashley wanted to get a podium spot as well, but that’s racing,” Britcher said. “She had some great runs, but I think she’s going to have a great season as well.”

Sweeney dropped to eighth place in 1:29.373, and Team USA’s Emma Erickson, who made her senior-level World Cup racing debut, placed 20th overall in 1:30.196.

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Men’s singles

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Three-time U.S. luge Olympian Tucker West missed out on a podium finish by three-thousandths of a second during Friday’s FIL Luge World Cup men’s singles race at Mount Van Hoevenberg.

West finished in fourth place with a two-run time of 1:42.588. Germany’s Max Langenhan achieved his seventh victory in a row, winning gold in 1:41.952. Austrians Jonas Mueller (1:42.398) and Nico Gleirshcer (1:42.585) finished in second and third, respectively.

“The result is good, but being fourth definitely stinks,” West said. “Maybe even more so in front of the home crowd. It was close … three-thousandths of a second. It’s very small. I can’t really blame anything other than performance. I just didn’t really have any good start curves today, which is ultimately what did it.”

Team USA’s teammate Jonny Gustafson placed fifth in 1:42.703 and Chris Mazdzer, who announced that this would be the last time he would compete in a World Cup race, finished in 12th place in 1:43.358. Hunter Harris earned 15th in 1:43.645 in his first senior-level World Cup event.