Skip to main content
Intellect

BYU student gives US first World Cup luge win since 1997

**Update**

BYU student Kate Hansen finished in 10th place in the women's luge at the Olympic Games. And she won a lot of fans for her pre-race dance moves

Original Story: 

Four months after breaking her foot, BYU student and Olympic athlete Kate Hansen stood atop the podium.

Hansen’s victory on a Latvian luge track was the first World Cup win in the sport for the United States in 16 years.

She celebrated on Instagram with a then-and-now picture showing a teenager with braces on the left and a triumphant medal-winner on the right.

"Started this luge adventure with braces and ended with some other kind of hardware," wrote Hansen. "It's been real Latvia." 

The 21-year-old didn’t just win – she also set a new track record in the second heat with a time of 41.887 seconds. Hansen’s performance gives USA Luge a well-timed boost heading into the Olympic Games in Sochi.

The new issue of BYU Magazine contains a feature with some great background on Hansen, who takes classes at BYU each spring term and enrolls in an online class during the luge season.

“BYU is my escape,” she told the magazine. “In the dorms I didn’t tell anyone I did this. Everyone got to know me as me. Going back to Provo is a dream for me every time.”

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

Geology meets history: BYU professor studies WWII shrapnel on Normandy beaches

June 05, 2025
Eighty years after D-Day, BYU geologists uncover lingering WWII shrapnel on Normandy beaches to study how history still shapes the coastline today.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Forum: Lessons from Noise: Crackle to Calm

June 03, 2025
This year’s Karl G. Maeser Distinguished Faculty Lecturer, Kent Gee, delivered his forum address on the science of sound and how he and BYU students have contributed to significant research in the acoustics industry.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

BYU study finds the real reasons why some people choose not to use artificial intelligence

June 03, 2025
In a recent study, BYU professors Jacob Steffen and Taylor Wells explored why some people are still reluctant to use GenAI tools. While some people might worry about an AI apocalypse, Steffen and Wells found that most non-users are more concerned with issues like trusting the results, missing the human touch or feeling unsure if GenAI is ethical to use.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=