Team USA Has Claimed 10 Gold Medals in Milano Cortina | See All Medals Won
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Brookfield, WI
Marcus Mueller's Olympic journey began at an unlikely place—the New Berlin Soap Box Derby in Wisconsin. As a seventh-grader around age 12, Mueller and his family saw a sign for a USA Luge Slider Search event. Though just trying the sport out, it turned out Mueller was a natural, and that single day changed the trajectory of his life. Mueller quickly made the Junior D Team and began training in Lake Placid, New York, spending eight weeks per year away from home while continuing his education. Dedicated to his craft even when at home in Brookfield, Mueller built a makeshift sled and starter track in his basement.
Mueller's ascent through the junior ranks was remarkable. In his Youth A career, he finished first in men's doubles at the world cup for the overall Youth A category in 2021-22 and second place in singles. That same season brought challenges when he injured his knee in a luge accident. He returned to competition and made his world cup debut in December 2021, taking home gold in the Youth A doubles division along with silver and bronze medals in singles.
As Mueller transitioned to junior competition, he teamed up with Ansel Haugsjaa, and the partnership proved exceptional. They won three USA Luge Junior National Championship titles and earned bronze at the 2023 FIL Junior World Championships. In 2024, they captured gold at the junior world championships in Lillehammer, Norway—the first junior world championship gold medal for a U.S. luge sled since Emily Sweeney won the title in 2013. The duo earned top-three finishes in every junior race they entered during their campaign. They also won the 2024 USA Luge National Championship and were named 2025 FIL U23 World Champions, with success continuing in the following years. They earned silver at the Cortina Olympic test event in November 2025, then claimed their first world cup gold medal in December 2025. Their consistency earned them a spot on the 2026 U.S. Olympic Team.
At the Olympic Winter Games Milan Cortina 2026, the sliding sports — bobsled, skeleton, and luge — will be held at the new Cortina Sliding Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo. The facility opened to sliding this fall. It’s located in Cortina d’Ampezzo, 257 mil...
When Emily Fischnaller (née Sweeney) first tried luge, some of her young teammates were not even born yet. But the 32-year-old is not ready to retire. Far from it. After winning USA Luge’s start championships in September, she is on her way to qualifyi...
In 2022, at the first world championship for women’s doubles luge, Team USA’s Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby won a bronze medal. They had been sliding together for less than two years.They won another bronze medal at the 2024 FIL World Championships...
USA Luge's Emily Sweeney could call multiple states in the Northeast her home. While she spent significant time in Maine and Connecticut, she often attributes her hometown to Lake Placid, New York. It is a small mountain town known primarily for two th...
The four-time Olympian announced his retirement ahead of this weekend’s world cup in Lake Placid, New York.
