Forgan/Kirkby – contrasting personalities on one sled
USA Luge Women’s Doubles Team at Olympic Premiere
Cortina (FIL/09 Feb 2026) Sophia Kirkby has prepared well for the Olympic Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Especially for the Olympic Village. The luger from the USA has handmade more than 2,000 pins. She will pack around 200 of them in her bags when she travels to Cortina. “That way I'll have something special to trade with the other athletes,” says the 24-year-old, who grew up near Lake Placid. She has also made earrings and espresso and cappuccino cups for the US support team. When she is not training or traveling to competitions, the 24-year-old enjoys crafting and working with porcelain at the Lake Placid Center of Arts.
“Sophia is the businesswoman in our group,” explains Chevonne Forgan. Kirkby is planning to start a company called Sophie's Ceramics and Services. And what are Forgan's hobbies? “They're not that exciting,” she says with a hearty laugh. She describes herself as more of an outdoor type, enjoying long walks and hikes, during which she also observes birds. “It's very relaxing,” she explains. However, her love of nature has nothing to do with her origins. She was born in Adelaide, Australia, in the summer of 2000. When she was eleven, the Forgan family moved to the US because her father took a new job.
The Chevonne Forgan/Sophia Kirkby duo has been around since 2020. “Our coaches had the idea,” says Forgan. One reason was the difference in height between the two, who had each been sledding solo for ten years before that. Forgan is 5'11“, Kirkby is 5'4”. Forgan reports: “We had so much fun on our first run that we decided to continue. And it continued to be fun.”
Of course, the joy continued because they were successful. The US girls won bronze medals at the 2022 World Championships in Winterberg and the 2024 World Championships in Altenberg. In 2024, they also won silver in the team relay. And most recently, of course, they qualified for the Olympic Games. “We are so happy that we made it,” says Forgan, downright euphoric, “our next goal is to have two good, consistent, and clean runs.” What will that be enough for in the end? “Good question,” says Forgan. Because it's a track in Italy and the Italian team has taken several breaks for training camps in Cortina in the World Cup, both Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby think the Italians Andrea Vötter and Marion Oberhofer have a good chance. But they also think highly of the German duo Dajana Eitberger/Magdalena Matschina and the world champions Selina Egle and Lara Kipp from Austria. “You definitely have to keep an eye on them,” they both say in unison. Quickly adding: "And hopefully on us too. We'll do our best.“
The races usually start very well, as the Forgan/Kirkby duo are among the best starters. “The way we work together on the sled also makes us strong,“ explains Kirkby, “the fact that we know how to work together after spending so much time together helps us."
From an early age, Sophia Kirkby was used to life on the ice track. “My father was a bobsledder, and he got me into luge,” reports Sophia. After figure skating and alpine skiing. “When I was seven, I watched a summer luge training camp,” she says, “they had wheels instead of runners on the sleds and drove down the road.” Out of pure curiosity, she tried it and immediately enjoyed it. In winter, she took to the ice. She was still too young to bobsled. And later, it was no longer an option. Especially since Kirkby's father died in 2024. If she wins a medal in Cortina, she will dedicate it to her father. Her partner Chevonne Forgan will do her part to help make this wish come true.
