CHICAGO (AP) — U.S. women's national team forward Mallory Swanson is expecting her first child with husband Dansby Swanson, shortstop for the Chicago Cubs.
The couple announced the pregnancy on Instagram, with Mallory Swanson captioning a series of photos, "Our greatest blessing."
Mallory Swanson, 27, was on the U.S. team that won the 2019 Women's World Cup, and the gold medal at last summer's Paris Olympics. She scored the lone goal in the 1-0 victory over Brazil in the Olympic final for the gold medal.
Mallory Swanson has not played this season for her club team, the Chicago Stars in the National Women's Soccer League. She's been excused for personal reasons.
Dansby Swanson, 31, is a two-time All-Star. He won a World Series with the Atlanta Braves in 2021 and won back-to-back Gold Glove awards in 2022 and 2023.
Mallory Swanson's teammate on last summer's Olympic team, Sophia Wilson, is also expecting her first child with husband Michael Wilson, a wide receiver for the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Chicago Cubs baseball player Dansby Swanson stands with his wife and United States Women's National Team soccer player, Mallory Swanson (9), who is being honored for her 100th game, before an international friendly women's soccer match against Iceland Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis, File)
FILE - Chicago Cubs baseball player Dansby Swanson stands with his wife and United States Women's National Team soccer player, Mallory Swanson (9), who is being honored for her 100th game, before an international friendly women's soccer match against Iceland, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis, File)
WINTERBERG, Germany (AP) — USA Luge is likely sending three women and two men to the singles races at next month's Milan Cortina Olympics, after Emily Fischnaller and Matthew Greiner appeared to clinch spots with their World Cup finishes on Saturday.
The International Luge Federation has not officially told national teams yet how many spots they have earned in the Milan Cortina fields, but the expectation — after Saturday's fifth and final singles Olympic qualifier of the season — is that it'll be Summer Britcher, Ashley Farquharson and Fischnaller on the women's team, with Jonny Gustafson and Greiner on the men's team.
USA Luge plans to announce its Olympic nominations on Monday.
Austria’s Hannah Prock won the women’s World Cup race Saturday, with Germany’s Julia Taubitz second and Italy’s Verena Hofer third. Lisa Schulte of Austria was fourth, one spot ahead of Britcher — who is now third in the World Cup seasonlong standings.
Farquharson crashed in her first run and did not finish but walked away with no apparent major issues. Fischnaller was 18th on Saturday.
If it is Britcher, Farquharson and Fischnaller on the Milan Cortina singles team for the U.S., as now expected, it would be the second consecutive time that trio represents USA Luge on the Olympic stage.
In the men’s race, Austria’s Jonas Mueller edged Germany’s Felix Loch — still the World Cup leader — for the win, with Nico Gleirscher of Austria placing third.
Gustafson was the top American man, placing ninth. Greiner was 15th, five spots ahead of fellow American Tucker West — who has been trying to race through injuries all season. Those results moved Greiner past West in the Olympic qualifying standings, and that means if USA Luge gets only two men's singles Olympic spots, as expected, Greiner would be joining Gustafson on the squad.
Based on Saturday's results, it also appears that the FIL will allocate two spots — one men's singles, one women's singles — to Russian athletes who would compete as neutral sliders at the Olympics. The Russians did not compete on top international circuits over the last three seasons in response to their nation's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, though had some athletes permitted to compete this season in a chance to qualify for Milan Cortina.
At St. Moritz, Switzerland, Kaillie Humphries Armbruster's fourth-place finish in women's monobob was the top finish of the day for the U.S. — which will announce its Olympic teams for bobsled and skeleton on Jan. 19.
Bree Walker of Australia got her series-leading third win of the season, with Melanie Hasler of Switzerland second and Katrin Beierl of Austria third. Humphries Armbruster's fourth-place showing matched her best of the season.
Elana Meyers Taylor was ninth and Kaysha Love was 14th for the U.S. in the monobob race.
In two-man, Germany's Johannes Lochner won for the fifth time in six races this season and Francesco Friedrich was second. But for the first time this season, it wasn't a German two-man medals sweep: Britain's Brad Hall drove to third, while Germany's Adam Ammour managed only a sixth-place finish.
Frank Del Duca of the U.S. was seventh.
Luge: World Cup men's doubles, women's doubles and team relay Sunday at Winterberg.
Bobsled: World Cup two-woman, four-man races Sunday at St. Moritz.
Skeleton: Men’s, women’s and mixed World Cup races on Jan. 16 at Altenberg, Germany.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Hannah Prock, of Austria, in action during the Luge Women World Cup, single-seater, 1st run in Winterberg, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP)
Runner-up Julia Taubitz, of Germany, from left, winner Hannah Prock, of Austria, and third-placed Verena Hofer, of Italy, celebrate on the podium following the Luge Women World Cup, single-seater, 2nd run in Winterberg, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP)
