Summer Britcher Secures Second Win of the Season at Luge World Cup in Sigulda, Leading USA Luge to Historic Success
Summer Britcher won the women's singles event at the Luge World Cup in Sigulda, Latvia, marking her second win of the season. She completed the two-run race with a time of 1:23.840, narrowly beating Lisa Schulte of Austria, who finished at 1:23.877, and Germany's Julia Taubitz at 1:23.931.
This victory represents Britcher's seventh career singles World Cup win, extending USA Luge's record for all-time singles victories. Despite missing the season-opening race in Winterberg, which USA Luge skipped as it was not an Olympic qualifying event, Britcher leads the World Cup singles standings.
Britcher stands poised to become the first American to win the overall World Cup singles crown. While previous American World Cup singles champions have been in the men's doubles category—such as Chris Thorpe and Gordy Sheer, or Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin, who last claimed the title in 2002-03—no American has yet won the singles crown overall.
In addition to her individual success, Britcher contributed to USA Luge's bronze medal performance in the team relay event. The relay was topped by Austria with Latvia second, and the USA team featured Britcher alongside Jonny Gustafson, Zach DiGregorio, Sean Hollander, Chevonne Forgan, and Sophia Kirkby.
Looking ahead, the next Olympic-qualifying competitions will be held in Winterberg. USA Luge plans to announce its Olympic team around January 12, with the Milan Cortina Games serving as the main target for the team.
