When I was nine, my mom asked me if I wanted to do something fun on Saturday and I said sure. I went to the White Castle Slider Search and got to try luge in a parking lot. I thought it was really fun! Then I was invited to a screening camp on ice in Lake Placid. I fell in love with luge because of the speed and the adrenaline rush that you get. Eventually, after two months of waiting, we were informed that I made the USA Luge Youth National B Team!

It is currently my third year on the team. I won the Empire State Winter games two years in a row. I was also named Norton Youth National Champion in 2024. In addition, I got the gold medal for both speed and consistency in the Seventh Annual Les Myers race for the Adirondack Luge Club.

It takes speed, strength, consistency, coordination, balance, abs and neck muscles, flexibility, reaction time, courage, resilience, hard work, and focus to be a good luge athlete. It is a lot of work balancing luge, 7th grade schoolwork, and other sports, but I am making it work in order to achieve my goal - competing in the 2034 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah!

Luge is fully self-funded at the youth level. Housing and accommodations, travel, track fees, and team fees are the biggest costs. I can only train in Lake Placid or Park City, so I train for 1-2 weeks at a time and stay in athlete housing. I am also responsible for covering the cost of equipment like my helmet and face shield, booties, speed suit, spikes, and team jackets, as well as supplies like duct tape, masking tape, electrical tape, and sandpaper.

Delilah Salgado

By United States Luge Association Inc

Delilah Salgado

USA Luge Youth National B Team