Members of the U.S. Luge National Team, Chevonne Forgan of Chelmsford, Mass., and Sophie Kirkby of Ray Brook, are preparing for their first FIL World Cup in Lake Placid. The World Cup will be held on December 8th and 9th at Van Hoovenberg Mountain.
The two currently live in the Lake Placid area and compete together in women’s doubles luge. Being on their home track at the beginning of the season, doubles teams not only don’t have to worry about traveling, but they already have experience at every turn of the track.
“This is definitely a technical track and we love it.” Folgan said.
Another big positive they expect is turnout. They are regulars at races around the world, so you won’t see any familiar faces.
“I can’t wait to see the big American audience.” Kirkby said. “It’s great to see some familiar faces and get a lot of cheers.”
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visual
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Luge has been an individual sport for decades, but doubles luge turns it into a team sport. Rotating and steering a luge sled requires countless small movements of the legs and feet, shifts of weight, and small movements of the shoulders. These combinations help doubles luge teams move around the track as quickly and safely as possible. These important but completely invisible movements are the secret to the team’s success in a sport measured in thousandths of a second.
Mr. Kirkby is at the bottom of the double sled, so he gives up most of his vision.
“Sophie is more in touch with the sled, so she has more emotion.” Folgan said. “It’s like I drive and Sophie prevents me from making all the mistakes.”
“I gave up a lot of my vision, but I’ve since developed good peripheral vision to see around her head and neck.” Kirkby said. “At the same time, I’m squarely facing the fiberglass of the pod, the part of the sled we’re lying on, and I have a better sense of what’s going to happen. Are we too far atop the curve? Rollback Do I need to, in other words, do I need to push my shoulders back at the end of the curve to get help? Because I’m more connected, I can make better decisions about things like that.”
Each doubles team member creates their own moves while cooperating with their teammates.
“It requires a lot of communication that happens when we can’t see each other or communicate verbally.” Folgan said. “Everything was done within a matter of seconds.”
This level of cooperation that Kirkby and Forgan describe all happens within a short amount of time while swooping down a luge track during training or international competition. On the track, both of you are 100% immersed in the moment, and this highly collaborative flow state happens instantly. It requires a lot of experience and mental focus, not to mention a level of cohesiveness that far exceeds that of other sports.
“We have a partnership now.” Folgan said. “We’re two people, so if one of us doesn’t feel motivated, we’re not just letting ourselves down. The other person is also affected, which makes it easier for us to be strong. We both feel that way.” We want to reach a high level and we are always pushing each other up.”
Kirkby added that another motivation was finding fun in the sport.
“That’s why we decided to do it in the first place. Just take the top handle off and go from there at breakneck speed.” she said. “Plus I’ve had great team partnerships. I’ve been able to travel all over the world and have great experiences in our sport.”
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start
– Growing up in Ray Brook, Kirkby was always close to Mt Van Hoofenberg.
“When I was 8 years old, my dad took me to Van Ho to try it out.” Kirkby said. “After my first run, my dad asked me if I wanted to run again. I said, ‘Yes,’ and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
It all started at the Adirondack Luge Club when he was just 8 years old. Kirkby must have made an impression on her because when she turned 10, she received an invitation from USA Luge to join the development team. Now she is 22 years old and has been skating for 14 years.
Forgan, a native of Chelmsford, Mass., first experienced luge at age 12 on one of White Castle’s national slide explorations.
“There was a tryout at one of the middle schools I went to and I got behind the wheel and tried it out.” she said. “A few weeks later, I received an email inviting me to Lake Placid, so I was excited to be here for a few days.”
Shortly thereafter, Chevonne completed the vetting process and joined the development team. Both players had been competing in singles for many years before starting doubles in 2020.
“We’ve been playing doubles together for three seasons now.” Folgan said. “Once we started playing doubles, that was it. We gave up singles for good.”
For both athletes, there is life beyond the luge. In both cases, their external interests are driven by the environment in which they live in the Adirondacks.
Kirkby’s biggest outside interest is ceramics. She has a studio membership and regularly turns clay at the Lake Placid Center of the Arts, creating Adirondack-themed mugs and more. Her interest is so strong that she is even considering taking this pursuit beyond her hobby stage.
“I’m actually planning to start a business next year called Sophie’s Ceramics and Services.” she said.
For Forgan, living in Lake Placid feels especially meaningful because of the easy access to the natural world.
“It’s such a great outdoor place.” she said. “We’re here all summer. We love hiking and swimming.”
She also became a birdwatching enthusiast.
“Birds really belong to me now. I love being able to identify them and their sounds.” Folgan said.
Both Kirkby and Forgan, who started playing the sport at a young age and now have such success, have some good advice for young people. Regardless of what sport you’re interested in, Kirkby said the most important thing is to let go of fear and try something new.
“You won’t know until you try.” she said. “Sports are a great development in human life, teaching discipline and helping with personal strength.”
“My advice to kids is to just try your best.” Folgan said. “Let’s give it our all and see where it goes.”
This seems like wise advice considering the opportunities, journeys, personal strengths, and medals this duo has enjoyed and achieved in their chosen sport.
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training
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Forgan and Kirkby’s daily tasks and schedules depend entirely on the season. During the fast-paced winter luge racing season, they get several days of solid training between trips to prepare for new competitions in different countries around the world.
“There’s probably two runs each day and then it’s race day.” Folgan said. “In competition, you have to make every run count. You can’t make the same mistake twice, so you always strive to achieve the perfect run.”
“In the summer, I lift weights and pull starts at USA Luge’s indoor refrigerated start ramp.” Kirkby said. “Starts are very important in luge. In the winter, all the training is done on the track, and there are also weightlifting sessions, but on the weekends we have race days. And on Mondays, we have race days in cars and planes. Then we move on to the next location, so it gets busier day by day.”
Traveling the world is part of the fun and excitement of being a professional luge athlete, but the pair say it’s also a challenge. They travel weekly from one country to another, and often from one continent to another. Carefully pack everything into the cargo box each time to avoid damaging your equipment along the way. After receiving it at the other end, it is transported and unloaded to prepare for the next day’s training.
Both agree that among the challenges they still face is creating greater comfort and familiarity at various luge tracks around the world.
“In the grand scheme of things,” Mr Folgan said: “We are still a young doubles team, so there are still tracks we need to work on. When you only have six or seven games left until the World Cup, you have to figure everything out in that short amount of time. yeah.”
But their efforts are paying off as they get used to each track and grow in confidence.
“One of the great things about this partnership is that we have someone with us and we can reflect on what happened and how we can improve.” Kirkby said. “In singles, you compete by yourself. Here, we’re riding the sled together.”
“Sophie feels great on the sled.” Folgan said. “It’s great to be able to figure things out with her. Plus, she’s very easy-going, especially when we’re facing adversity. This makes it a lot easier to work with. On the ice. Beyond that, partnerships are very important. Being on the same page, constantly collaborating and communicating will help us get to where we want to be.”
Their destinations include the 2026 Winter Olympics, where the women’s doubles luge medal will be awarded for the first time.
“We are very pleased to see the addition of women’s doubles to the next Olympic Games. We believe this is a huge step forward for our sport, and for sport in general.” Folgan said. “It’s a great opportunity to compete in a category that didn’t even exist a few years ago.”