By Canadian Press

Luge world championships an Olympic ‘dress rehearsal’ for young Canadian team

Feb 5, 2025 | 1:07 PM

WHISTLER, B.C. — It’s been nearly 15 years since Caitlin Nash stood on the sidelines, watching wide-eyed as luge sleds flew by at stunning speeds, all in pursuit of Olympic glory.

Now it’s her turn to wow spectators on the very same track as the luge world championships return to her hometown of Whistler, B.C., starting on Thursday.

“I can’t wait,” she said. “Honestly, I remember being around for the Olympics here in 2010 and going to watch some of the training sessions, and just seeing how many people were around … and just hearing the crowd. And I’ve always wanted that.”

More than 120 athletes representing 18 nations will blast down the 16-corner track in Whistler over the three-day event.

Nash heads in as the top-ranked Canadian, sitting 21st in the overall women’s singles standings.

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This World Cup season was her “most consistent so far,” the 21-year-old said.

“I’m pretty pleased with the way it’s been going, consistency-wise,” Nash said. “In terms of results, we were maybe hoping to push a little bit higher into some of those top 15s, maybe top 12s. But I’ve been pretty happy with the way I’ve been sliding.”

While luge is a sport where many athletes compete well into their 30s, Canada’s team is full of youthful exuberance.

Of the 10 sliders set to compete at the world championships in Whistler, Carolyn Maxwell of Calgary is the oldest at 24.

The Canadians are in a unique position, Nash said.

“(Luge is) a sport where experience is very important,” she said. “And I think in our program, at least when I came into the national team, we had a lot of our more senior athletes retire, and so from within our own program, I think we missed a little bit of that mentorship opportunity. But a lot of the other countries have been super awesome at sort of extending that hand and offering help when it has been needed.”

While there aren’t many seasoned veterans sliding for Canada right now, there are several behind the scenes, Nash added.

Two-time Olympic medallist Alex Gough and two-time Olympian Kimberly McRae are both on Luge Canada’s board of directors, and Sam Edney, who won silver at the 2018 Games in South Korea, is the organization’s high-performance director.

The challenge of working with a crew of raw, emerging talents is what drew head coach Robert Fegg back to Luge Canada in 2022 after time with the United States Luge Association and the Korea Luge Federation.

“For me, it’s more important that I can put my footprint into the program and help them and make them better, not just sit there and harvest, right?” Fegg said.

“Having such a young team and helping them mature in the sport and get better and maybe explore new areas and reach new heights, that’s way more rewarding.”

Canada’s team in Whistler will include Nash, Maxwell, Trinity Ellis of Pemberton, B.C., and Embyr-Lee Susko of Whistler in women’s singles. On the men’s singles side, Dylan Morse and Theo Downey, both of Calgary, will compete. Calgary’s Beattie Podulsky and Kailey Allan will slide in women’s doubles, and Calgary’s Devin Wardrope and Cole Anthony Zajanski in the men’s doubles race.

Many of the athletes have been through the pressures and joys of a world championships before, Fegg said, but never on a Canadian track.

“It’s a whole new level when you do that at home, in front of your home crowd, your family, your friends, a lot more media attention and all that kind of stuff,” he said. “Plus it’s your home track, you should be flawless on your home track, right? Which sounds easy, but it isn’t with all the external pressure.”

The experience will be key as the group preps for the 2026 Games in Italy next winter, he added.

“This is a rehearsal for the Olympic Games,” Fegg said.

Nash isn’t sure she’ll ever get to compete in an Olympics on home soil. This world championship may be the closest she gets. The competition will be close to home, though.

“I grew up, like, three kilometres away from the sliding centre. It’s quite literally in my backyard,” she said.

Nash isn’t the only one who came up in the shadow of Whistler’s Olympic rings. Ellis and Susko are also from the area, and the trio have been friends since they were 11 or 12.

“And I think it’s been awesome to sort of have a group of girls as well that’s grown up in Whistler, and we’ve all sort of come up together on this track, and we’re basically the first generation of athletes to come out of Whistler, being in our home track, and to be like some of those legacy athletes,” Nash said.

The powerful bond they’ve developed has helped them grow as both people and athletes.

“I consider those women my family. They are. They themselves push me to be better every single day: Nash said. “And I think that’s sort of what makes us really strong as a group, is that there’s a great sense of support and family, but the level of competition is very high.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2025.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press