PARK CITY, Utah — U.S. teammates Summer Britcher and Emily Fischnaller are in first and second place going into Saturday's final heat of a World Cup women's singles luge race, a rare two-day, two-run format for the circuit.
Britcher finished her run down the 2002 Olympic track in 43.291 seconds; Fischnaller finished in 43.295 seconds. Austria's Dorothea Schwarz is third after one run, with a time of 43.324 seconds.
The women's race will end Saturday, as will the men's singles race — which is also using the two-day format. Typically, both heats of a World Cup race are held the same day. Jonas Müller of Austria (44.652) is the men's leader at the midway point, followed in the top five by Germany's Max Langenhan, Italian teammates Leon Felderer and Dominik Fischnaller, and Jonny Gustafson of the U.S.
In men's doubles, USA Luge picked up a silver when Zack Di Gregorio and Sean Hollander saw their lead slip away in the final meters of the second run. Germany's Toni Eggert and Florian Mueller rallied for the win, finishing two runs in 1 minute, 26.222 seconds. Di Gregorio and Hollander — the leaders after one run — finished in 1:26.273. Italy's Ivan Nagler and Fabian Malleier were third in 1:26.356.
Di Gregorio and Hollander said the medal is a great way to head into next weekend's World Cup stop at Lake Placid, probably their best track.
''We had a great race two years ago in Lake Placid. We're just going to take this momentum into that,'' Hollander said.
In women's doubles, Germany's Dajana Eitberger and Magadalena Matschina got the win, with Austria's Selina Egle and Lara Kipp second and the German sled of Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal placing third. Italy's Andrea Voetter and Marion Oberhofer were fourth, one spot better than the U.S. sled of Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby.
Skeleton
