WHISTLER, B.C. — Canada's Embyr-Lee Susko grabbed bronze at the America-Pacific Championship at the Whistler Sliding Centre on Saturday, held in conjunction with the 2023 Eberspacher Luge World Cup circuit stop.
Susko of Whistler, B.C., took home the medal with a time of one minute 18.404 seconds in the women's singles luge event. Her time was good for ninth place among all World Cup competitors.
"I'm just so stoked, that was two clean runs," the 18-year-old said. "Not my best start to the second run but I'm so happy with what I was able to put down today."
"I've been on this track 12 seasons now so you can definitely find some speed where other nations might not be able to."
Emily Sweeney of the U.S. took the championship gold with a time of 1:18.221, while fellow American Ashley Farquharson earned silver in 1:18.238.
The Whistler World Cup stop is Susko's second-ever senior competition, having primarily competed on the junior circuit as a teenager.
The Canadian luging community has been incredibly welcoming, Susko said, with teammate Caitlin Nash acting as another coach.
"They're constantly helping me out, with doubles and singles, it's just such a supportive team and an amazing environment to be around," Susko said.
Robert Fegg, the head coach of the Canadian luge program, said he was pleased overall with how the national team performed in the competition, and particularly happy with Susko's growth and results.
"After the first run it looked not as good as it was," Fegg said.
"Embyr is young. She just needs to build on what she did today … now it's about developing the athletic side a little bit more, maturing the body into an athletic body. She's so young. And getting the experience on other tracks as well."
Julia Taubitz led a German podium sweep among World Cup competitors. She grabbed gold with a time of 1:18.066 seconds.
Anna Berreiter (1:18.177) and Merle Fraebel (1:18.179) earned silver and bronze, respectively.
Canada's Trinity Ellis finished 16th, Nash in 18th and Carolyn Maxwell rounded out the contingent in 22nd place.
The Canadians finished sixth in the team relay later in the day. Germany, Austria and the United States claimed gold, silver and bronze, respectively.
Team relay squads consist of one sled from each discipline: women's singles, men's doubles, men's singles, and women's doubles.
All four sleds for each team start one after the other from one start height, provided the slider in front of them hits a touch pad to open the start gate for their teammate.
It's the first time women's doubles was included in the relay, with Susko and sliding partner Beattie Podulsky competing.
"It felt really good knowing that we were able to beat a couple teams ahead of us and stay on top there for a little bit," Podulsky said post-competition.
The pair raced in their first senior event on Friday and have only been working together for a month.
Devin Wardrope, who formed half of the men's doubles team, said he was pleased with Canada's performance in the relay.
"Track felt great today. Not optimal conditions but the track felt really smooth," he said.
"It's so much fun. The relay is definitely my favourite. Getting to stand there as a team and represent Canada and fist-bumping all of your teammates and getting to congratulate everyone, it's so much better when you have that many more people and your team is behind you."
Podulsky said on Friday that she had nerves ahead of the doubles race, with Susko playing the role of calming teammate.
"It was really nerve wracking," Podulsky said. "I was ready to throw up before that first run. I had to be told 'it's OK, if it happens it happens. We're new.'
"It was definitely really nerve wracking being around everyone and in that environment."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2023.
Nick Wells, The Canadian Press
