Ansel Haugsjaa and Marcus Mueller Have “A” Plan For Every Curve. Plus a B Plan. And a C Plan.
Ansel Haugsjaa and Marcus Mueller go 90 miles per hour with a completely empty mind. It's the result of seven years, thousands of mind runs, and a Plan A, B, and C for every single curve on the track. The two U.S. Olympic lugers have figured out something most people never do: how to stay calm when the plan falls apart. Here's how they built it.
The Architecture of a Run
There is a version of elite athletic performance that looks exactly like what you'd expect. The sprinter's face contorted at the finish. The gymnast's white-knuckled grip. The swimmer gasping at the wall. Effort, visible and legible. And then there’s luge.
Haugsjaa and Mueller go 90 miles per hour down a sheet of ice in a sled slightly larger than a cafeteria tray. They navigate sixteen curves over the course of a minute, hitting G-forces at every turn. And the marker of a great run? To look like you’re doing absolutely nothing.
"When you get to a certain level and you're on a good run, it looks like you’re just sleeping on the sled and really doesn't feel like much. You're so focused and so relaxed that I wouldn't even say it feels that crazy. You're just kind of flowing down the track." Muller says.
Haugsjaa jokes that "it’s just the sad reality."
But here's what's actually happening inside that stillness.
For every one of the sixteen curves, the duo has a Plan A, a Plan B, and sometimes a Plan C. They practice strategy through thousands of mind runs. Visualizing every curve in great detail, making necessary adjustments and corrections to their race plan with precision.
"The better the run is going, the more it's stuck to a plan." notes Mueller.
And when it isn't?
"Sometimes a run goes so far off track that you just feel like it's over. There's no plan anymore. We try to react as fast as possible in the moment to save it,” reflects Haugsjaa.
The plan is there's no plan. And they've talked about that too.
A Partnership Seven Years In The Making
In doubles luge, Haugsjaa can't see what's happening on the sled. Mueller does most of the driving. On most doubles teams, that tips one direction where one athlete takes charge and the other follows.
"We do a good job of both talking through everything pretty equally, both kind of trying to figure out what's going on on the slide," says Haugsjaa.
Mueller cuts in:
"He's not giving himself enough credit. He does a lot in the sled. He makes things really smooth. Makes it easy for me to do my job. We were both really lucky, where we just happen to be very aligned in how we approach the sport, naturally. Which is something you maybe can't know when you first start out.”
Most partnerships crack under pressure. This one didn't.
The Path to Cortina
Making the 2026 U.S. Olympic team was not a given.
Three U.S. men's doubles sleds were chasing one, maybe two Olympics spots. Across an entire season of World Cup qualifying races, every result mattered. Teammates Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby described the same thing: the hardest part wasn't the Olympics. It was getting there.
Haugsjaa agrees: "The most stressed I was all season was the first Olympic qualifier. It was held in Cortina. It wasn't even televised. The most stressed I felt was for a race that wasn't even gonna be televised or count for anything except qualifying points."
Once they qualified, something unexpected happened.
"Once we got to the Olympics, it was like…we made it, you know? We're here." says Mueller.
Race week in the Olympic village felt different — the rings, the atmosphere, the weight of a moment that was hard to minimize. Then race day came and surprised them both.
"When the actual race day came, I was kind of shocked about how I felt. I really did try to embrace just having fun, just enjoy the moment as much as possible,” says Haugsjaa.
Every veteran on the team had said the same thing. Just enjoy it. Both of them had heard it and thought: yeah, right. Then they qualified for the Games. And the advice finally landed.
Your Takeaway
Across my conversations with the 2026 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team, it’s clear that the athletes who perform best under pressure share one similarity: they don't wait for the big moment to figure out how they'll respond. They've already rehearsed it. Thousands of “mind runs”. Plan A, Plan B, Plan C. A focused acceptance that sometimes the plan dissolves entirely and all that's left is trust.
You don't have to be sliding at 90 miles per hour for this to apply. In whatever you're building (a career, a presentation, a relationship), there’s a few questions worth asking yourself. Are you visualizing it happening? Have you thought about Plan A? Plan B? Plan C? And have you talked about it with those closest to you?
Haugsjaa and Mueller have. And the mentality carried them to the Olympic Games.
ABOUT THIS SERIES
I'm Amy Wotovich, and I'm on a mission to personally interview 100% of the 2026 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team. How do elite athletes train their mindset, overcome failure, sustain dominance, and compete with confidence? Follow the journey to find out as Ansel Haugsjaa and Marcus Mueller are two of 304 athletes sharing their unfiltered answers.
