Emily Sweeney (luger)

Emily Carolyn Sweeney (born November 28, 1993) is an American luger.[3] She is the sister of fellow luger Megan Sweeney.[4]

Emily Sweeney
Sweeney at the World Cup in Altenberg, Germany, in February 2017
Personal information
Full nameEmily Carolyn Sweeney
NationalityAmerican
Born (1993-03-16) March 16, 1993[1]
Portland, Maine, U.S.[2]
Height5 ft 5 in (1.64 m)[1]
Weight130 lb (59 kg)[1]
Sport
Country United States
Sport Luge
Event(s)Women's singles
ClubU.S. Army
Medal record
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2019 WinterbergWomen's singles
Sgt Sweeney in 2017

Luge career

During the 2009 World Cup season, Sweeney became Junior World Luge Champion and took bronze medals at the Junior World Cup at Winterberg, Germany and a gold medal at Park City, Utah.[5]

In December 2015, during World Cup competition on their home track in Lake Placid, Sweeney and teammates Erin Hamlin and Summer Britcher swept the field. It marked the first time the U.S. women knocked out the dominant German team.

On November 26, 2017, she won her first World Cup gold medal in the sprint race at Winterberg.[6]

Emily Sweeney was selected as a member of the 2018 USA Olympic Team.[1][7] At the Pyongchang Games, her first Olympics, Sweeney crashed on her final run, losing control at turn 12 of the Alpensia track after "(catching) a good amount of air" when entering the corner. The neck and back fractures she suffered were figured out some days later. Nine months after her accident, she came back and won a bronze medal at a World Cup race in Whistler, British Columbia.[8][9]

In 2019, she won a bronze medal in the women's singles competition at the 2019 FIL World Luge Championships in Winterberg.

Military career

According to Sweeney, she was inspired to join the Army National Guard by hearing her grandfather, Jack Sweeney, tell stories about his time in the Navy. She enlisted as a military policewoman and attended basic and advanced individual training at the US Army Military Police School on Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. She graduated with honors. After initial training, she joined the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program. She served in the New York Army National Guard with the 206th Military Police Company and the Joint Force Headquarters in New York. She was a sergeant.

References
  1. "Emily Sweeney". pyeongchang2018.com. PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on April 21, 2018.
  2. "Emily Sweeney". TeamUSA.org. United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015.
  3. Paisley, Joe (January 3, 2015). "USA luger slides to best finish". Colorado Springs Gazette. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  4. Associated Press (December 19, 2009). "Megan Sweeney, of Suffield, Conn., chosen as luger for U.S. women's Olympic team". MassLive. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  5. Lacdan, Joe (February 6, 2018). "Luge athlete Sgt. Emily Sweeney perseveres through heartache, injury to compete in 2018 Olympics". Army.mil. Army News Service. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  6. Associated Press (November 26, 2017). "American Emily Sweeney gets first World Cup gold medal". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  7. "SGT Emily Sweeney". armymwr.com. Army MWR. Archived from the original on February 11, 2018.
  8. Reynolds, Tim (December 2, 2018). "From broken to bronze: Sweeney overcomes major luge crash". Yahoo! News. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  9. Caligiore, Sandy (December 1, 2018). "Emily Sweeney Caps Her Comeback From Olympic Crash To Claim World Cup Bronze In Season Debut". TeamUSA.org. United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on December 2, 2018.
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