With seven medals, USA Luge is enjoying one of its best World Cup seasons in nearly a decade.
And to think, this one isn’t even half over.
Additional Images
For the first time in a long time, there’s serious reason for optimism when it comes to the American luge program: Tucker West, Chris Mazdzer and Erin Hamlin have all won two singles World Cup medals this season, the U.S. remains a threat in the team relay, and the long-struggling doubles program is showing signs of growth.
There might be a simple explanation.
“Success kind of snowballs,” West said.
In fairness, there’s much more to it than that.
A deeper commitment to research and sled development in recent years started paying big dividends last winter, when Hamlin won a bronze medal at the Sochi Olympics. And this World Cup has blown away most reasonable expectations for the Americans, with West winning a men’s race at Lake Placid, New York, Mazdzer winning a sprint race at Calgary, Alberta, and Hamlin already picking up two silvers this winter.
And Maine’s Julia Clukey had her best international finish in nearly two years in October, placing fourth at the Lillehammer Cup in Norway.
So when the holiday break on the international luge circuit ends Friday with the start of a World Cup weekend in Koenigssee, Germany, the Americans will actually be entering with a bit of momentum.
“I think we’re moving in the right direction, but I don’t want to speak too soon,” U.S. women’s luger Emily Sweeney said. “We’ve had a lot of success (so far). But we also really haven’t been on their turf yet.”
She’s speaking of the Germans. They are tough to beat anywhere, especially Germany, where sliding sports are serious business.
With the next three World Cup weekends to take place there and six World Cup meets left on the schedule, the U.S. understands that the looming challenge is a daunting one.
The only part of the early U.S. success that might not be surprising is the results posted by Hamlin, who won the bronze medal last winter at the Sochi Olympics.
Even though she’s a former world champion, that Olympic moment helped her come into this season more confident and clearly more relaxed.
That doesn’t mean her fire has gone out. Far from it, actually.
“I don’t want to make it sound like I didn’t enjoy sliding before because I definitely did,” Hamlin said. “I still want to do well. I’m still super competitive. I’m not going to go through the motions because I have an Olympic medal.”
That medal proved inspirational for others, too.
Sweeney was so distraught over not qualifying for last year’s Olympics that she didn’t even want to watch the competition. But when it became evident that Hamlin – her friend and roommate – was going to medal, Sweeney gave in and watched.
Maybe, as West said, success kind of snowballs.
“A lot of things are falling into place at the right time,” West said. “Hopefully we’ll keep up this speed the rest of the season.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.