PARK CITY, UT -- Finishing fourth for the third straight week left a bit of a sour taste in the mouths of U.S. luge athletes Summer Britcher and Emily Sweeney, who missed out on a podium finish Friday by 14 thousandths of a second in women’s doubles luge at the World Cup at Utah Olympic Park.
“It’s a bummer. We’re bummed out right now,” said the 29-year-old Sweeney, who joined forces with Britcher, 28, ahead of this season’s debut of women’s doubles as part of the official World Cup program.
The pair posted a combined two-run time of 1:28.969, finishing +0.667 behind winners Andrea Vötter and Marion Oberhofer of Italy. The American duo, who boast five Olympic appearances between them as singles athletes, are looking to replicate their singles’ success while giving each other plenty of grace while they navigate this new discipline together.
“I would say the takeaways are that we’re supporting each other very well,” added Sweeney, who’s had to scale back on her training this week due to some whiplash-like symptoms in her neck. “I think that the level of understanding that Summer has shown me over this week has been great. We didn’t take the Nation’s Cup run yesterday, and that was because of me, but I felt really supported and understood.”
But the feeling is mutual, as Britcher noted she’s been dealing with what she calls a “mystery injury” with her fingers and says Sweeney has picked up the slack without hesitation.
“I haven’t been able to paddle in most of our training runs, and she’s like, ‘Okay, we’ll just make what we can of the run.’ So there’s been a lot of understanding and support, which is a very positive takeaway,” said Britcher, who has five World Cup wins on her resume – the most of any U.S. women’s luge athlete ever.
For Vötter and Oberhofer, the win Friday marked their second consecutive women’s doubles luge victory and put them into the lead in the season-long points standings. The Italian team posted a time of 1:28.302 and set a new track record on their first run with a 44.044, breaking the previous record set by Austria’s Selina Egle and Lara Michaela.
Rounding out the podium were Germany’s Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal at +0.603 back, while Canada’s Caitlin Nash and Natalie Corless placed third (+0.653).
Placing fifth were fellow Americans Maya Chan and Reannyn Weiler (+0.698), while Egle and Michaela placed sixth and relinquished their spot atop the points standings. American sliders Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby placed seventh (+1.073).
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With three U.S. teams competing in women’s doubles, Britcher said the camaraderie has been another bonus as they all venture into this new normal together.
“I think we have a bright future,” Britcher said of the U.S. women. “It’s really cool to have two other teams that we can work with and cheer on and get those fist bumps at the start. And Maya and Reannyn are showing a lot of speed as well.”
“Some really impressive saves too,” added Sweeney. “They’ll get there, and it’s fun to be able to cheer them along the way.”
Britcher and Sweeney will both compete in the women’s singles and sprint World Cup races Saturday, and they are finding the silver lining in the quick turnaround time in their schedule as well.
“We did a lot of training and switching back and forth in the fall,” Sweeney shared. “That was one of our big focuses, knowing that this was going to be the type of schedule we’re looking at this season. We did a lot of the training to prepare for it, and at this point, we just need to trust our skills and our training and just go for it.”
Added Britcher: “The one positive I’m taking away this moment is, normally if I miss a podium by 14 thousandths of a second, I would be having quite a pity party tonight. But we don’t have time. We have another World Cup tomorrow and there’s just simply no time for that.”
