Every Weekend Had to Be Her Best Weekend. Meet Chevonne Forgan, The Luger Who Delivered.
Chevonne Forgan was twelve years old when her mom took her to a parking lot to try luge on wheels. At the time, she didn't know it was a tryout for the USA Luge developmental team.
"I didn't realize it was a tryout until months later when we got the letter in the mail inviting me back to Lake Placid."
Armed with a mix of fear and excitement, she ventured out to Lake Placid.
Early Beginnings at a Slider Search
Luge finds most sliders the same way it found Chevonne: through a White Castle slider search. USA Luge sets up tryouts across the country for kids ages 9 to 13. They mark off a parking lot, put up a ramp and some cones, and see who shows up.
Chevonne showed up and didn't look back.
"When I first started luge, what really drew me in was the speed and the adrenaline. It really was the most exciting thing I had ever done. And so I kind of just thought, as long as I'm enjoying it, I'll see how far I can go."
Each year, she kept enjoying it more and more.
"I still enjoy it so much. It's so much fun. And everything that comes along with it…the travel and the people I get to meet is so incredible."
Fourteen years later, Forgan slid into her Olympic debut at Cortina.
Face Shield On
Ask Chevonne what goes through her mind at the top of the track and she'll tell you it depends on the day.
"It's always a little bit different at the handles. It depends on the day and on the week and if it's a race or if it's training."
But there's one moment that doesn't change.
"Once you sit down on the sled and you're getting ready at the handles, the timer will go and you put your face shield on and that kind of just locks everything in and you're so focused and you're ready to go. That moment is always the same."
And one thing you have in common with an Olympic luger? The nerves that just don't go away.
"It is still scary and definitely makes me nervous. I get super nervous at the handles some days. But I think that's just a part of it. The nerves also bring excitement. I’m always on my toes."
One Weekend at a Time
Chevonne made her Olympic debut at Cortina in doubles alongside her partner Sophia Kirkby. The season leading up to it was the hardest of her entire career.
"This season with the Olympic qualifying was definitely the most difficult thing I've done in my career so far. The amount of stress and uncertainty having to, each race weekend, be on top of my game and constantly be performing to a certain standard to be able to qualify was so stressful."
The qualification format required Chevonne and Sophia to put down strong performances across the first five World Cups of the season. Not just compete well. Compete better, every single weekend, with results compounding.
"World Cup stress is different. It's kind of a new weekend every weekend. And then to have this continuous standard that you have to meet was really taxing mentally and physically. It didn’t help that I knew it was going to be difficult going into the season.”
A Dynamic Duo
Chevonne and Sophia have been doubles partners for six years. By Forgan’s own description, they’re very different people. That's part of what makes them so successful.
"For Sophia and I, it's been really good because we balance each other out very well, especially in this competitive and stressful environment. Sophie's always very reliable and very calm and easygoing. So that cert me when I'm going crazy."
When you watch them slide, you're only seeing half the picture.
"For doubles, I wish more people understood that the steering is kind of split. You see the top person and you see the work they're doing. And often the person who's on the bottom catches a lot of slack because it looks like they just lay there."
The person on the bottom controls the foot pedals, kufens, with subtle leg and shoulder pressure. You just can't see it.
"Sophia puts so much work into steering that you just can't see. Whereas you can see so much of what I do. It really is an important job for both of us."
We’re All Chasing Speed
Most people watching luge at the Olympics see the speed and think: I could never. Chevonne thought the same thing, right up until her mom dropped her off in Lake Placid for her first training camp.
None of this was a grand plan. She didn't set out to become an Olympian at 12. She just kept showing up to the sport she enjoyed, year after year, and trusted that as enough of a reason to continue.
The Olympic dream didn't drive her career. Her love of the process did and the Olympic dream caught up later.
Just remember, the next time you're staring down an endeavor that feels intimidatingly impossible, you don't need the perfect plan all figured out. You just need to get started.
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 Chevonne Forgan is one of 304 athletes sharing their unfiltered answers.
