By Canadian Press

Eitberger, Latvia win luge golds; US gets silver in doubles

Jan 7, 2023 | 1:15 PM

SIGULDA, Latvia (AP) — Dajana Eitberger of Germany won the women’s luge World Cup race Saturday, and host Latvia swept the gold medals in the men’s and women’s doubles races.

Eitberger got her second win of the season in 1 minute, 22.999 seconds, about a hundredth of a second better than Latvia’s Elina Ieva Vitola (1:23.093). Germany’s Julia Taubitz was third in 1:23.143 and kept her lead in the World Cup season standings.

Ashley Farquharson was the top U.S. finisher, placing 10th. Summer Britcher tied for 12th, Brittney Arndt was 14th and Emily Sweeney — fourth after the first heat — had trouble in the second run and finished 17th.

Trinity Ellis of Pemberton, B.C., came in 16th while Calgary’s Carolyn Maxwell finished 20th and Caitlin Nash of Whistler, B.C., was 22nd. 

USA Luge got its fifth World Cup luge medal of the season later Saturday, with the women’s doubles team of Chevonne Forgan and Sophie Kirkby winning silver.

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Latvia’s Anda Upite and Sanija Ozolina won the doubles race in 1:24.916. Forgan and Kirkby were second in 1:25.138 and Germany’s Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal were third in 1:25.261. Only six sleds finished in the race.

In the men’s doubles race, Latvia’s Martins Bots and Roberts Plume had the best time in both heats and finished in 1:22.642.

Germany’s Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt were second in 1:22.798, while Italy’s Emanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwaldner were third in 1:23.024. Zack DiGregorio and Sean Hollander were the top U.S. men’s doubles sled, placing eighth.

Canada’s Devin Wardrope and Cole Zajaski slid to an 11th-place finish.

“This week was really challenging for us,” Wardrope said in a release. “Sigulda is a track that we just haven’t been able to get right, and it got trickier with the temperature dropping 10 degrees the day prior to the race.”

The Associated Press