By Ken Hamwey

Staff writer

Medway native Zack DiGregorio continues to excel in the luge and climb the ladder of success.

His latest achievement occurred when he and doubles partner Sean Hollander became the first U.S. doubles team to win a World Cup race in 18 years. The history-making event came on Dec. 8 when DiGregorio and Hollander prevailed at the season opener in Lake Placid, NY. 

The U.S. duo was in second place after the first of two runs, then rallied past first-run leaders Thomas Steu and Wolfgang Kindl of Austria in the second run to win by 52 thousandths of a second. DiGregorio andHollander had the second-fastest time in both heats and finished in 1 minute, 27.630 seconds. 

The U.S. men’s doubles win was the first in the last 184 World Cup men’s doubles races, dating back to Dec. 9, 2005 — when three-time World Cup overall winners Mark Grimmette and Brian Martin won their last World Cup. Grimmette and Martin had 11 World Cup wins in their career. 

About 40 friends and family of DiGregorio were on hand to see how much the American tandem knows about the Lake Placid track.

“To be able to win in front of them was amazing,” DiGregorio said after the triumph. “Lake Placid has always been a very special place for me. I’ve been coming up here since I was seven and never racing here other than nationals. It was really cool to see a World Cup and to win. Just that extra cherry on top.”

Hollander, a Lake Placid native, said they know the track like the back of their hands. “We’ve had hundreds of runs here,” he said after the race. 

DiGregorio, 22, and Hollander, 23, teamed up in 2020, then qualified the 2022 Olympic team. They placed 11th at the Games, then seventh at the January 2023 World Championships. Their best World Cup finish before the Lake Placid victory was fourth.

“It’s a lot of first,” Hollander said. “It’s the first World Cup in Lake Placid for me and Zack, and it’s a first World Cup medal for me and Zack — and it was first [place].” 

Austria’s second team of Juri Gatt and Riccardo Schopf (0.072 seconds back) finished third ahead of Latvia’s Martins Bots and Roberts Plume (0.111). The other U.S. men’s doubles team — Dana Kellogg and Frank Ike — finished 10th place in a time of 1:28.482. 

Luge is the fastest sport in the winter Olympics. Athletes ride a flat sled through a course face up and feet first. There are no brakes, and a sled can reach 90 mph.  Lugers use their heels to ultimately stop the sled at the end of the course. Competitors use their feet, calves and shoulder muscles to direct the sled. The main steering mechanisms are the two elongated runners on which the competitors rest their feet. A slight nudge can drastically shift the sled’s direction. 

With the way DiGregorio and Hollander are handling the nuances involved in luge competition, they should be able to continue earning accolades – regardless of what course they are dealing with.