Learn more about the Maine native who never backs down from a challenge to fulfill her dreams.
From World Cup podiums to Olympic appearances, Emily Fischnaller has left her mark on Luge through determination, consistency and elite-level performance.
Born in Portland, Maine, and raised in both Connecticut and New York, Emily Fischnaller discovered luge through USA Luge’s youth development programs. She quickly showed promise, climbing through the junior ranks and establishing herself as one of the country’s brightest prospects. Her breakthrough came in 2013 when she captured the Junior World Championship title, confirming her status as a future star in American luge.
Resilience has defined the career of Emily Fischnaller. One of the most accomplished American lugers of her generation, Fischnaller has spent more than a decade competing at the highest level of her sport, overcoming injuries, setbacks and Olympic heartbreak while remaining a fixture on the international luge circuit. Her journey from a young slider in the United States to a three-time Olympian is a testament to perseverance and determination.
As she transitioned to the senior levels, Fischnaller became a regular competitor on the FIL World Cup circuit. Her combination of technical precision, fearlessness and explosive starts helped her earn multiple podium finishes. In 2017, she claimed her first World Cup gold medal in the sprint event in Winterberg, Germany, a milestone that solidified her place among the sport’s elite.
The defining moment of her career came at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. Competing in her first Olympic Games, Fischnaller was in the midst of her final run when disaster struck. A violent crash sent her sled careening into the walls of the track, resulting in fractures to her neck and spine. While she remarkably walked away from the crash, the injuries required months of recovery and cast doubt on her future in the sport. Rather than retire, however, she fought her way back. Less than a year later, she returned to international competition and earned a World Cup bronze medal, one of the most inspiring comeback stories in winter sports.
Her success continued in the years that followed. Fischnaller won bronze medals at the World Championships in 2019 and 2025, becoming only the second American woman to earn multiple singles medals at the World Championship level. Throughout the 2022-2026 Olympic cycle, she enjoyed some of the strongest performances of her career, collecting numerous World Cup medals and demonstrating remarkable consistency against the world’s best competitors.
Away from the track, Fischnaller has served in the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program and has been an advocate for greater support and visibility for athletes in Olympic sports. In 2025, she married Italian luger Dominik Fischnaller, creating one of the most recognizable couples in the luge community.
Now a veteran of three Olympic Games, Emily Fischnaller’s legacy extends far beyond medals and results. Her career has been defined by resilience in the face of adversity, a relentless commitment to improvement and an unwavering passion for the sport she loves. Whether racing down an icy track at more than 80 miles per hour or inspiring the next generation of athletes, Fischnaller continues to embody the spirit of perseverance that makes Olympic athletes extraordinary.