Ashley Farquharson takes bronze, second US women’s luge medal ever

Ashley Farquharson competed towards Olympic glory in luge on Tuesday at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Games.

The American luger became emotional when she checked the scoreboard and realized she had won her first Olympic medal. Her performance in women’s luge singles Tuesday also marked the second time an American woman won an Olympic medal in the event.

Farquharson, who started sliding as an extracurricular activity when she was growing up In Park City, Utah, said it’s almost hard to believe what she’s accomplished.

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Ashley Farquharson of the United States reacts after her run in the women’s singles luge event during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Cortina Sliding Center in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, February 10, 2026. (Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters via Imagn Images)

“It definitely didn’t seem real,” Farquharson said after his victory. “And then everyone was meeting me on the ice, and the whirlwind that has been since then really cemented it. For a few seconds, as I was getting to the distance, I was like, ‘This isn’t real.'”

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Germany’s Julia Taubitz won the gold medal, winning by almost a second, a monster margin in luge. Latvia’s Elena Bota finished second, matching her country’s best Olympic result.

Until Farquharson’s feat, Erin Hamlin was the last American woman to win a bronze medal, at the 2014 Sochi Games.

Ashley Farquharson of Team USA starts the first race of the women’s singles on the third day of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Cortina Sliding Center on February 9, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

“It was a dream,” Taubitz said. “And now the dream comes true.”

Farquharson didn’t medal in any of his first 54 World Cup races before finally breaking through this season.

She wasn’t the fastest, but she was more than enough. She is an Olympic medalist. Farquharson’s abilities will never be questioned again.

“Super happy for Ashley, very happy for USA Luge,” said longtime American teammate Emily Fischnaller. “I mean, we’re the ones on the sled, but there’s a team behind us in everything we do. So, it’s just a testament to all the work that everyone has put in.”

Ashley Farquharson, bronze medalist of the United States, celebrates after the women’s singles luge during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Cortina Sliding Center on February 10, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters via Imagn Images)

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Luge is a sport in which athletes slide on their backs on sleds down an icy track at high speed.

Fischnaller finished 12th for the Americans in 3:33.035, dropping from fifth place after three runs following problems in her final heat. American Summer Britcher, a two-time World Cup winner this season and now a four-time Olympian, finished 14th in 3:33.553.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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