Ashley Farquharson wins bronze for second-ever U.S. Olympic medal in women’s luge

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CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Ashley Farquharson won bronze in the women’s luge singles Tuesday, just the second Olympic women’s luge medal in U.S. history.

Germany’s Julia Taubitz took gold with a total time of 3:30.625, while Latvia’s Elina Bota (3:31.543) won silver. Farquharson was third at 3:31.582.

It is the first women’s luge medal for America since Erin Hamlin won bronze at the 2014 Sochi Games.

Luge, where athletes slide while lying on their back on a sled down an icy track and can reach speeds of more than 90 miles per hour, is all about the start — as in, your first few runs. The competition is split over two days, and if sliders don’t turn in good times for their first or second runs, their only hope at a medal is if someone in front of them makes a big mistake.

That’s exactly what happened Tuesday.

All events have concluded. See full medal count.

Germany’s Merle Malou Fraebel started Tuesday in second place and was a contender for gold. But as she got settled on the sled for her third run, she banged around the track and had to put a foot down on the ice to steady herself. That cost her precious time, and she plummeted down the standings, ultimately finishing eighth.

That opened the door for Farquharson, who had two excellent runs on the first day of competition. Farquharson started Tuesday in fifth place, but after a stellar third run leapfrogged Italy’s Verena Hofer to move into third place. She held on to that in the fourth and final run.

Cortina is Farquharson’s second Olympics; at the 2022 Beijing Games, she finished 12th in women’s singles.

Her teammates Emily Fischnaller and Summer Britcher finished 12th and 14th, respectively. Fischnaller was competing in her third Olympics, and her fifth-place finish is up from 26th in Beijing. She also broke her neck at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Britcher was believed to be the American most likely to medal coming into Cortina, but a rough first day of sliding put her out of podium contention almost immediately. Milan Cortina was Britcher’s fourth Olympics, and 14th is her best finish yet. She was 23rd in Beijing in 2022, 19th in 2018 and 15th in 2014.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Olympics, Global Sports, Women's Olympics

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