On icy luge tracks, Chinese and US Olympians navigate distractions, disruptions while training for Beijing

Ashley Farquharson rocks back and forth in her sled, grabs the start bars and hurtles down the icy track, hitting speeds of up to 128 kilometres per hour (80mph) before coming to rest.

Farquharson and fellow USA Luge team members are honing their skills and dreaming of medals at this refrigerated training centre in Lake Placid, New York, in preparation for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. But uncertainty over the highly contagious Covid-19 Delta variant and calls to boycott because of China’s human rights record have her and teammates working to block out the distractions.