Team USA Luge’s Marcus Mueller, left, and Ansel Haugsjaa show off their silver medals at the brand-new Cortina Sliding Center in Italy on Saturday. (Provided photo — FIL/Michael Kristen)

CORTINA d’AMPEZZO, Italy — The American duo of Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa proved they are ready to challenge the world’s best athletes by placing second in a competition on Saturday held at the site of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

The race, at the brand-new Cortina Sliding Center, served as a systems test and qualifier in advance of the upcoming Olympic Games. Team USA’s Ashley Farquharson placed fourth in the women’s competition. Both sleds made significant progress toward a nomination to the 2026 Team USA squad.

On Sunday, the final day, the United States placed fifth in the team relay, while Jonny Gustafson was the top finishing American man in 14th.

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Men’s doubles

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This was the first medal for Mueller, of Brookfield, Wisconsin, and Haugsjaa, of Framingham, Massachusetts, at the World Cup level, but not their first time on an international podium. They are the winners of the 2024 Junior World Championship and the 2025 U23 World Championship. Their two-run combined time was 1 minute, 45.404 seconds.

“It was pretty great,” Mueller said. “(We had) two good runs. That’s all we were looking for this week. And we knew we had some speed, so I’m super happy.”

“It feels amazing,” Haugsjaa added. “Like Marcus said, we had a lot of speed in training, but a lot of inconsistency as well. So, we kind of had the feeling if we could put it together, something good might come of it. It’s just amazing to have that happen.”

The 2024 World Championship team relay silver medalists, Dana Kellogg of Chesterfield, Massachusetts and Frank Ike of Lititz, Pennsylvania, placed 12th in 1:45.884. Olympians Zack DiGregorio of Medway, Massachusetts and Sean Hollander of Lake Placid had problems in the upper portion of the course and finished in 21st with a one-run time of 53.957. Only the top 18 sleds participate in the second heat.

Germany’s Hannes Orlamunder and Paul Gubitz won the race in 1:45.170, with teammates Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt third in 1:45.417.

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Women’s doubles

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Chevonne Forgan of Chelmsford, Massachusetts and Sophia Kirkby of Ray Brook placed fifth in 1:47.330. The two-time World Championship medalists did not have a perfect day.

“We had some problems on our first run, some small problems on our second run,” Forgan said. “Overall, we’re happy for the experience and all the learning and all the work we put in this week.” Kirkby added, “I think we have some good takeaways. (This is) preparation for the future. We’ll have one more run tomorrow, and then after that, if we come back, it’ll be for the Olympics.”

Maya Chan of Chicago and Sophia Gordon of Sussex, Wisconsin, placed tenth in 1:48.491.

Dajana Eitberger and Magdalena Matschina of Germany won the race in 1:46.415. Italy’s Andrea Votterand Marion and Oberhofer were second in 1:46.469, with Austria’s Selena Egle and Lara Kipp third in 1:46.474.

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Women’s singles

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Farquharson, of Park City, Utah, was the top finishing U.S. sled, just shy of the podium in fourth place. The 2022 Olympian clocked in at 1:46.208.

“I’m really excited about the speed shown today, but I definitely still have a bit left out there,” Farquharson said. “I’m looking forward to the home races (in Park City and Lake Placid) to really sink into the sled and find some extra hundredths of a second.”

Three-time Olympian Summer Britcher of Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, was 13th in 1:46.820, while Emily Fischnaller of Lake Placid was 21st in 53.726. Only the top 20 sleds take part in the second heat. Like Fischnaller, Emma Erickson of Park City, Utah, took only one run, finishing 36th in 54.714.

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Team relay

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The USA team featured Farquharson, the men’s duo of Mueller and Haugsjaa, Gustafson of Massena, and the women’s duo of Forgan and Kirkby. Their combined time was 3:43.527.

Austria won the event in 3:42.536, with Germany second in 3:42.822. The Italian home team took third place in 3:43.004.

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Men’s singles

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Gustafson, a 2022 Olympian, was the top U.S. athlete. He was 14th in 1:47.679. Two-time Junior World Championship medalist Matt Greiner of Park City, Utah, was 16th in 1:47.798, a career best at the World Cup level. Hunter Harris of East Fairfield, Vermont, was 18th in 1:47.990.

Three-time Olympian Tucker West of Lake Placid has been battling an injury that impacted the start of his first run. He placed 21st with a single run time of 54.091, as only the top 20 sleds advanced to the second heat.

Jonas Mueller of Austria won the race in 1:46.364, with Latvia’s Kristers Aparjods second in 1:46.537 and Wolfgang Kindl of Austria third in 1:46.543.

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Olympic qualification and Team USA nomination process

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The World Cup season kicks off next weekend in Winterberg, Germany. Team USA will skip this event, however, opting instead to train in Lake Placid, as the Winterberg race is not a part of the five-race Olympic qualification process.

Nations earn Olympic spots by earning points through the results of the Cortina test event and four pre-Olympic World Cup races. To learn more about the quota system for nations, visit tinyurl.com/5y97wjnr.

Team USA athletes earn a nomination to the 2026 Olympic Team based on results in the five FIL Olympic qualifying events. An “A-tier” result (a top five finish in a full field, as defined by World Cup rules), or two “B-tier” results (two results in the top 50% of a full field, as defined by World Cup rules) can earn an Olympic nomination. If an athlete does not earn an “A-tier” or “B-tier,” then points earned in the five races will be used. For the complete procedure, visit usaluge.org/selection-processes.

With the first of five qualification races complete, the silver medalists, Mueller/Haugsjaa and Ashley Farquharson, who placed fourth on Saturday, have earned an “A-tier” result. Gustafson has earned a “B-tier” result. Forgan/Kirkby, Kellogg/Ike and Britcher, also have one “B-tier” result.

USA Luge will formally announce its list of nominees to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee in January 2026, who will then announce those athletes as members of the 2026 Olympic squad.