Summer Britcher of the United States waves after the women's sprint race at the Luge World Cup in Igls near Innsbruck, Austria, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

PARK CITY — It was a historic day on Saturday for USA Luge at the International Luge Federation’s (FIL) World Cup as Summer Britcher secured a sixth career gold medal, furthering her legacy as the all-time singles leader in the U.S. The result also marks the 50th World Cup gold medal for USA Luge.

Ashley Farquharson won her first singles career World Cup medal, taking bronze with a time of one minute, 27.066 seconds, while Team USA also earned bronze in the relay.

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Women’s singles

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Three-time Olympian Britcher, of Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, who was in the top spot following Friday’s first run in the discipline, found speed toward the end of the track and crossed the finish line at 1:26.961. She won her first race in Park City 10 years and two days ago.

“I feel so good,” Britcher said following her win. “It’s been quite a while since I’ve stood on top of the podium, so I can’t even describe it — it’s just incredible! And to do it here with my family and to share the podium with Ashley, the only thing better than getting a podium is sharing the podium with a teammate.”

Farquharson, of Park City, Utah, came back from 10th place Friday with the fastest time in the second heat. The 2022 Olympian earned the bronze with a time of 1:27.070 in front of a home crowd. This was Farquharson’s first trip to the World Cup podium. Emma Erickson, also of Park City, Utah, did not compete in today’s second run, as only the top 20 advance to the second heat. She finished in 22nd place with a time of 44.045.

“After my mistake yesterday I was like, ‘Put her down,’ so I did,” Farquharson said Saturday. “It is tricky this year. The profiles are shaped a lot differently than what I’m used to, but I just kind of came back to the fact that I have probably a thousand runs here over my life and tried to lean into the fact that if it was hard for me, then it was twice as hard for everyone else.”

Italy’s Verena Hofer was second overall in women’s singles, with a time of 1:27.066.

Two-time Olympian Emily Fischnaller, of Lake Placid, who sat in second place following the first heat, hit the wall entering curve 11, and ultimately finished in 13th place overall with a time of 1:27.496.

In the overall World Cup standings, Austria’s Hannah Prock is in first place with 155 points, Merle Fraebel of Germany is second with 135 and Prock’s teammate Dorothea Schwarz is third with 130.

The U.S. team did not compete in the first World Cup of the season as it was not an Olympic qualifying event and opted to travel to Lake Placid for additional training. After one race, Britcher leads the U.S. women in fourth place with 100 points, Farquharson is in 11th place with 70, Fischnaller is 25th with 30, and Erickson is 32nd with 19.

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Men’s singles

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2022 Olympian Jonny Gustafson, of Massena, tied a career best fifth place with a time of 1:30.215. Teammate Matt Greiner, of Park City, finished in 18th place with a time of 1:32.228. Like Erickson, Hunter Harris, of East Fairfield, Vermont, did not compete in Saturday’s second run. He placed 24th overall in 46.399.

“It was awesome out there,” Gustafson said. “I mean, the track was a wild ride for everybody, and I was lucky enough to make it down. And I’m happy the second run was really strong. It was, I think, fourth overall for that run. And I’m stoked the top five (finish) ties my PR. (I) obviously would have liked a few more spots, but I’m ecstatic.”

Austria’s Jonas Mueller won gold with a time of 1:29.640, followed by Germany’s Max Langenhan in second place in 1:29.897 and Italy’s Leon Felderer in third in 1:30.148.

The race’s top two finishers also lead the World Cup standings. Mueller is in first place in the standings with 185 points, followed by Langenhan in second with 155 and Germany’s Felix Loch in third with 146. Gustafson leads the Americans and is currently sitting in 13th place overall with 55 points. Greiner is in 30th place with 23. Harris is 34th with 17 and Tucker West, of Lake Placid, is 46th with two points.

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Team relay

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Following Britcher’s gold medal performance, she joined teammate Gustafson, Friday’s men’s doubles silver medalists Zack DiGregorio and Sean Hollander and the duo of Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby for the relay.

Britcher kicked off the relay, followed by Gustafson, DiGregorio, of Medway, Massachusetts, and Hollander, of Lake Placid. Forgan, of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and Kirkby, of Lake Placid, had the strongest start among all women’s doubles teams, securing the bronze medal for Team USA with a time of 3:06.451.

“It feels good,” Hollander said. “I mean there was definitely some time in our run. We weren’t too happy with the reaction time, but we are happy with the result, and we had a little luck on our side.”

DiGregio added that earning two medals in a weekend was a “great” feeling.

“We are really stoked on that,” he said.

Team Italy won the event with a time of 3:05.885, and Team Austria finished in second the a time of 3:06.092.

Austria leads the World Cup overall points with 170. Germany is second with 155 and Italy is third with 150. Team USA is seventh with 70 points after taking part in one of two relay races this season.

Forgan said Team USA luge athletes enjoyed racing on a home track, and in front of a home crowd.

“We had so much fun racing today here in Park City,” she said Saturday. “We love racing on a home track. We are happy we put down a good run!”

Kirkby said she was looking forward to the next World Cup, which happens to be this weekend at Mount Van Hoevenberg, her home track.

“I’m really excited to go home and race on my home track,” she said. And I’m really excited to see the home crowd that we will have out there cheering for us.”

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Olympic qualification and Team USA nomination process

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The FIL Luge World Cup in Park City, Utah, is the second of five Olympic qualification races.

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/ynxmmmax.

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 is a top-five finish in a full field, as defined by World Cup rules, or a combination of two “B tier” results, which are two results in the top 50% of a full field, as defined by World Cup rules.

Team USA athletes can earn an Olympic nomination with one “A-tier” result or two “B-tier” results. If an athlete does not earn either, then points earned in the five races will be used. For the complete procedure, visit tinyurl.com/8tafwsf8.

In Park City, Britcher earned her first “A tier” in women’s singles, while Farquharson earned her second. Sweeney earned half of a “B tier.” Gustafson has an “A tier” in men’s singles.

Around Jan. 12, 2026, USA Luge will formally announce its list of nominees to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, who will then announce those athletes as members of the 2026 Olympic squad.

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Up next

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The FIL World Cup makes its second and final stop for the season in the U.S. this weekend in Lake Placid. Luge athletes will be competing at Mount Van Hoevenberg on Friday and Saturday. Events are slated to run from about 3 to 8 p.m. on Friday and noon to around 4 p.m. on Saturday.

For more information, including a complete line-up of events, tickets and volunteer opportunities, visit tinyurl.com/4nmwe8xb.