Tucker West competes at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 on Feb. 10, 2018 in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Two-time Olympian Tucker West retained his crown as king of the Norton USA Luge Start Championships while fellow two-time Olympic teammate Summer Britcher earned the victory for the women in Lake Placid, New York, as the U.S. athletes got a step closer to the start of racing season.
West won the event for the seventh time in a row with a final start time of 1.430 seconds to a total of 5.472 across the four heats. Jonny Gustafson, who is entering his third world cup season, took second place with a total of 5.603 and Chris Mazdzer, who became the first U.S. man to win an Olympic medal in singles luge at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, was third with a total time of 5.633.
Britcher, who holds five world cup victories, won easily for the women with a final start time of 1.610 for a total of 5.961. Brittney Arndt, who raced last season with the junior national team, was second with a total time of 6.098 and Ashley Farquharson, who was the 2017 and 2018 junior national champion, finished third with a total time of 6.194. Olympian Emily Sweeney did not compete.
Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
