Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby were training in Lake Placid, New York, when they received the news, officially, that changed the trajectory of their shared career.
On June 24, 2022, the IOC announced a slew of new Winter Olympic events to debut at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.
Some were introduced to bring the Winter Games closer to gender equality. One of them was Forgan and Kirkby’s event of women’s doubles luge.
One doubles event had already been on the Olympic program since luge’s debut at the 1964 Innsbruck Games, but only men had ever competed together.
“It was relieving,” Forgan said of the inclusion. “We were kind of counting on it being added to the Olympics, and just the fact that it did, I was like, OK, now we can actually focus on getting there.”
They’re just a year away. Forgan and Kirkby, who used to compete against each other in singles, are now one of the world’s best doubles teams.
They rank third on this season’s World Cup circuit going into this week’s World Championships in Whistler, Canada. The women’s doubles event is Friday. Forgan, 24, and Kirkby, 23, won world championships bronze medals in 2022 and 2024.
“Sometimes it’s hard to even think of ourselves as being that good,” Forgan said. “It still feels like we’re really learning and figuring it out.”
Forgan was born in Australia. She saw snow for the first time when her family moved to Massachusetts in 2011 for her dad’s job in computer software.
The next year, Forgan’s mom learned of a slider search event in a nearby town. USA Luge sets up a street luge course with cones to introduce the sport to kids.
“I thought it was sort of try luge for fun, get to know the sport,” she said. “I didn’t realize it was a tryout to make the team, until we got the email months later inviting me back to Lake Placid to try it on ice. And that was sort of like, OK, maybe we should actually find out what this really is.”
Forgan, a self-described daredevil, was hooked after her first few runs on ice, reaching about 30 miles per hour.
Kirkby grew up one town over from Lake Placid, the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic host that is home to one of the U.S.’ two full-scale sliding tracks. She said that her dad, James, had bobsled experience while with the Air Force. Naturally, she began sliding at age 8.
“Eventually, I just found out that I was pretty decent at it,” she said.
In 2020, Kirkby and Forgan went one-two in the U.S. Junior Championships in singles. That same year, then-U.S. coach Robert Fegg suggested they give doubles a shot.
06 January 2024, North Rhine-Westphalia, Winterberg: Luge: World Cup: Doubles, women, 1st run. ride through the ice channel. Chevonne Chelsea Forgan and Sophia Kirkby (USA) race through the ice channel. Photo: Marius Becker/dpa (Photo by Marius Becker/picture alliance via Getty Images)
dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
Forgan is 5 feet, 10 inches. Kirkby is 5 feet, 3 inches. A height difference is beneficial for aerodynamics in doubles.
Neither was sure about it. They spent the 2020-21 pandemic year training both singles and doubles. When they teamed up, Forgan said it felt like they were almost learning how to luge again, which was fun.
“We’re kind of having to share a brain on the sled,” she said.
They went all-in on doubles in 2021-22, the first season with a world championship for the event.
“My main concern was, is this going to be an Olympic category or not?” Kirkby said.
Forgan and Kirkby won bronze at those first world championships. Five months later came the announcement that women’s doubles was added for the next Olympics in 2026.
After luge’s Olympic debut in 1964, it took 34 years for the U.S. to win its first medals — men’s doubles silver and bronze in 1998. And 50 years for the first U.S. medal in singles — Erin Hamlin’s bronze in 2014.
With Forgan and Kirkby, the U.S. from the get-go is rivaling traditional powers Germany, Austria and Italy in women’s doubles.
This season, Kirkby is competing with a quote written on her left glove from her father, who had prostate cancer and died last summer.
“Everything is going really really good! -Dad,” reads the glove she is wearing at world championships.
Before he died, Kirkby’s mom, Arina, had him talk to save his voice in recordings. He spoke about Forgan and Kirkby’s team. He spoke about how great their previous season was. He said he hoped they’d go to the Olympics.
“Before he died he said to me, ‘I might not be able to watch your next season, but I’d like to think I’ll be there giving you an extra push sliding down,’” Kirkby posted on social media this week. “I might not have him here to watch this season, but I feel I’ve had him help push me to 4 World Cup podiums so far this season🥇🥈🥉🥉. I’m beyond blessed to carry his strength and love with me on every run. Here’s to our most successful season yet—together.”
