Summer Britcher of the U.S. luge team is about to fly to the Olympics.
Britcher’s second women’s single bobsleigh title of the season on Sunday moved her to the top of the World Cup standings and further cemented her status as a medal contender at next month’s Olympics in Cortina, Milan.
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She won in Sigurda, Latvia, beating Lisa Schulte of Austria and Julia Taubitz of Germany in the second heat. Britcher’s two-round time was 1 minute 23.840 seconds, Schulte’s time was 1:23.877, and Taubitz’s time was 1:23.931.
It was the seventh singles victory of Britcher’s career, extending her all-time record among U.S. luge riders.
“Very, very happy,” said Bricher after winning her third medal in three singles events of the season (two gold and one bronze). “I’ve had a lot of ups and downs at Sigulda, but it was like my favorite track a long time ago and I really loved it. … It’s just so fun to feel that joy again on a track here.”
Britcher has a chance to become the first American to win a World Cup singles title. The U.S. luge team has won the World Cup full-season title four times — all in the men’s doubles. Chris Thorpe and Gordy Sheer did it first, then Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin did it three times, the last time in 2002-03.
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And — somewhat remarkably — Bricher still leads the standings despite missing one game. The U.S. luge team skipped its season-opening World Cup race in Winterberg, Germany because it was not included in the Olympic qualifying calculations.
Britcher placed third in Sunday’s second heat. This weekend’s singles event in Sigulda will feature two days and two rounds, a preparation for the two-day, four-round competition at the Olympics.
Schulte and Taubitz were the only skaters with a chance to catch Britcher at the end. Their performance was poor, which obviously surprised Britcher.
“I really didn’t expect this to happen,” Bricher said. “I tried really hard not to think about the outcome. Running every day, you have a lot of time to think about the possibilities, so I was really just thinking, ‘Okay, what do I need to do on the track?’ So, I think I probably had a little bit of an anticlimactic smile at the end. I was so shocked.”
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Ashley Farquharson finished fifth for Team USA in the women’s singles event. Emily Fischnaller was fourth going into the second heat when she lost control at the bottom of the track and fell off her sled. She didn’t finish her sentence but walked away looking unhurt.
The win in the women’s singles was one of two medals for Britcher on the day, as she also helped the U.S. luge team win a bronze medal in the team relay.
Schulte and the Austrian team won the team relay championship, host Latvia finished second, the U.S. team’s Britcher and Jonny Gustafson won the men’s singles, Zach DiGregorio and Sean Holland won the men’s doubles bobsled, and Chevon Forgen and Sofia Kirkby finished third in the women’s doubles bobsled.
In the men’s singles competition, two-time Olympic singles champion Felix Loch of Germany won his 55th career victory, two points short of the all-time record of 57 games held by retired Italian star Armin Zöggeler. Austria’s Jonas Müller finished second and Germany’s Max Langenhan finished third.
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The U.S. luge team plans to announce its Olympic team around January 12, while the U.S. bobsled and bobsleigh teams competing in the Cortina Games in Milan are expected to be announced on January 19.
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Host nation Germany swept the women’s bobsleigh race in Winterberg, Germany, on Sunday, while American Kelly Humphries Armbruster narrowly missed out on a medal.
Laura Nolte edged out teammates Lisa Buckwitz and Kim Kalicki to win for Germany. Nolte’s two-run time was 1:53.63, 0.16 seconds faster than Bakwitz and 0.66 seconds ahead of Kalic.
Humphries Armbruster teamed up with Sylvia Hoffman to finish fourth, 0.95 seconds behind Nolte. American rider Elana Meyers Taylor finished eighth, while Kaysha Love crossed the line in tenth place.
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There’s a four-man match later Sunday.
Next
Bobsled: The women’s single bobsled two-person World Cup event takes place Saturday in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Skeleton: Men’s World Cup match in St. Moritz on Wednesday.
Luge: The men’s and women’s World Cup events will take place in Winterberg on Saturday.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
