Elsa Desmond

Elsa Desmond

Desmond in 2018
Personal information
Born	(1997-08-06) 6 August 1997 (age 28) Buckingham, England
Alma mater	King's College London
Years active	2018–present
Sport
Country	Ireland
Sport	Luge
Rank	27th World Cup Overall Women's Singles Overall 2023/2024 [1]
Event	Singles
Coached by	Adam Rosen [2]
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals	2022
World finals	2019 FIL World Luge Championships, 2021 FIL World Luge Championships, 2023 FIL World Luge Championships, 2024 FIL World Luge Championships [1]
Highest world ranking	10th (2019 U23 World Championships) [1]

Elsa Desmond (born 6 August 1997), nicknamed the "Flying Doctor" ^[3] is an Irish luger. ^{[1] [4] [5]} She was Irelands first Olympic luge athlete and the Irish flag bearer in the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics. ^[6]

Early life

Desmond was born in Buckingham in 1997. ^[7] Her paternal grandparents were from County Cavan and County Cork, Ireland. ^[8] She grew up in England, India and Turkey, and was part of the University of London Air Squadron. ^[4]

Sporting career

Desmond at the 2021–22 Luge World Cup.

Desmond at the 2021 FIL World Luge Championships

Desmond began to compete internationally in luge in 2018. Elsa founded the Irish Luge Federation with support from her family to allow her to compete internationally, and continues to be a fully self funded athlete. ^[9] She competed for Ireland at the 2022 Winter Olympics in the women's singles event becoming Irelands first luge athlete to compete at the Olympics. ^{[10] [11]} She continues to run the Irish Luge Federation alongside coaching the growing junior team with the aim of ensuring the longevity of the sport within Ireland.

At the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics in Gangwon, South Korea Desmond was the team leader for the Irish luge team, coaching youth athlete Lily Cooke. ^[12]

Elsa's qualification for 2026 Winter Olympics was surrounded with controversy. Desmond met all criteria to qualify, but at the last minute her Olympic spot was allocated to one of the Individual Neutral Athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics with no transparency or reasoning given by the International Luge Federation for this decision ^[13] . The Irish Luge Federation took the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who ruled no jurisdiction as the Olympic selection process concluded more than 10 days prior to the opening ceremony of the games. ^[14] . Although Desmond never got the opportunity to compete at her second games, it is widely acknowledged in the press that she was unlawfully deprived her spot to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics ^[15] .

Womens World Cup Season Results

Season	Ranking	Points
2018/19	43	28
2019/20	61	-
2020/21	50	8
2021/22	54	13
2022/23	31	71
2023/24	26	102
2024/25	28	118

Championship Results

Year	Event	Ranking
2019	U23 World Championship Winterberg.	10
2019	World Championship Winterberg.	30
2019	European Championships Oberhof	24
2021	World Championship Konigssee.	40
2023	World Championship Oberhof.	35
2023	European Championships Sigulda.	20
2024	World Championship Oberhof.	34
2024	European Championships Innsbruck.	27
2025	World Championship Whistler Sliding Centre.	30
2026	European Championships Oberhof	19

Olympic Results

Year	Host City	Ranking
2022	Beijing.	33

FIL Official Results ^[1]

Personal life

Desmond studied medicine at King's College London, and began to work at Southend University Hospital in July 2021. ^[16] Desmond then relocated to Iceland ^[17] , where she aims to pursue a career in emergency medicine or anaesthetics with the aim of eventually working in the Air medical services. ^[18]

See also

• Ireland at the 2022 Winter Olympics

References

1. "Athletes. Elsa Desmond".
2. "Luge World Cup: Elsa Desmond on a pathway to the 2022 Winter Olympics". Royal Borough Observer. September 25, 2018.
3. Kantchev, Georgi. "The Mom-and-Pop Operation That Sent Ireland's 'Flying Doctor' to Beijing". The Wall Street Journal.
4. Fennessy, Paul (January 21, 2021). "The medical student who has made sporting history for Ireland". The42.
5. O'Riordan, Ian. "Ireland names six-strong Beijing Winter Olympics team". The Irish Times.
6. "Beijing-2022 Opening Ceremony Flag-Bearers". www.olympics.com/. International Olympic Committee (IOC). February 4, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
7. "Elsa Desmond - Player Profile - Luge". Eurosport.
8. O'Donoghue, Conor. "Meet some of the Irish athletes aiming to make the 2022 Winter Olympics in 60 days". The Irish Post.
9. "Daredevil doctor Elsa Desmond blazes trail as Ireland's first Olympic luger". olympics.
10. "2022 Winter Olympics Games: Irish team aiming to do a 'Cool Runnings' in Beijing". independent. January 24, 2022.
11. "Introducing....Elsa Desmond (LUGE) | d jhbnn#TeamIreland - Olympics". olympics.ie/. December 2, 2021.
12. "Cookham's Elsa Desmond helping to bring through the next generation of Luge athletes". maidenhead advertiser.
13. "The Russia problem: Elsa Desmond deserves a straight answer about her Olympic heartbreak". thecurrency.
14. Daffunchio Picazo, Raul. "CAS declares lack of jurisdiction in Irish appeal". insidethegames.
15. "It's a David vs Goliath situation". offtheball.
16. Whitehouse, Ellis (January 26, 2022). "Essex doctor competing in Winter Olympics in China". EssexLive.
17. Kissane, Sinéad (2025). "'I'm ginger. I'm far happier in cold weather' – Icelandic-based Irish luger Elsa Desmond targets second Olympics". irishindependent.
18. "Dr Elsa Desmond" (PDF). squarespace.com.

External links

• Elsa Desmond at the International Luge Federation
• Elsa Desmond at the Olympic Federation of Ireland
• Elsa Desmond at Olympics.com
• Elsa Desmond at Olympedia