Luge stars to watch at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics

All eyes will be on the German team, led by three-time Olympic champion Felix Loch and reigning world champion Julia Taubitz, as the nation looks to repeat the gold medal sweep achieved four years ago at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

Loch comes into Milano Cortina 2026 as the man to beat in men’s singles, topping the overall World Cup standings this season with four victories to his name, while Taubitz will rely on steady consistency to pick up where Natalie Geisenberger – the most decorated female luge athlete in Olympic history – left off. 

Max Langenhan and Merle Fräbel, ranked within the overall top three in men’s singles and women’s singles, respectively, are also likely to factor into proceedings, along with Austrian medal hopefuls Lisa Schulte, Jonas Müller, Hannah Prock, Nico Gleirscher and Wolfgang Kindl – with the latter set to become the first luge athlete to compete in three medals events at same edition of the Games.

Team USA’s singles effort will be led by World Cup standout Summer Britcher, with teammate Emily Fischnaller set to compete alongside her husband and local favourite Dominik Fischnaller of Italy, who won a bronze medal in men’s singles at Beijing 2022.

Germany’s Tobias Arlt and Tobias Wendl will attempt to win their fourth consecutive gold medal in the men’s doubles, entering as favourites by winning the last three World Cup races before Milano Cortina 2026. Teammates Toni Eggert and Florian Mueller might just be their strongest opposition, with Austrian and Latvian pairs also fancying their chances at the Cortina Sliding Centre.

There will also be plenty of interest surrounding the debut of women’s doubles, where the Italian duo of Andrea Voetter and Marion Oberhofer will hope to make history on home ice. They’ll face a stiff challenge from German pair Dajana Eitberger/Magdalena Matschina, Austrian duo Selina Egle/Lara Kipp and Team USA standouts Chevonne Forgan/Sophia Kirkby.

Germany will then be favoured to defend their Olympic title in the team relay – an event they’ve never lost at the Olympic Games – but expect Austria and Latvia to be hot on their tails.