| Kate Hansen | |
| Birth Name: | Kate Elizabeth Hansen[1] |
| Birth Date: | 9 June 1992 |
| Birth Place: | Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Education: | Brigham Young University |
| Height: | 1.7abbr=onNaNabbr=on |
| Weight: | 59abbr=onNaNabbr=on |
| Sport: | Luge |
| Club: | Brigham Young University |
| Olympics: | 2014 Sochi |
Kate Elizabeth Hansen (born June 9, 1992) is an American luger who has competed since 2003. In 2008, she became the youngest Junior World Champion, at age fifteen.
Hansen has been competing since 2003. She would practice luge in California by riding a skateboard down hills on her back. In 2008, at the age of fifteen, she was the youngest-ever Junior World Champion. She has been on the United States National Team since 2007, and she finished 16th in the women's singles at a World Cup event in Calgary on November 21, 2009. Hansen won the USA Luge National Championship in October 2013 with a broken foot. In January 2014 she was the U.S. Olympic Committee's athlete of the month.[2] She finished 10th place in the Sochi 2014 Olympics.
| Competition | Location | Date(s) | Time | Rank | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–2008 Junior World Cup | Winterberg, Germany | November 23, 2007 | 1:31.974 | 3rd (Bronze) | Youth A Women |
| 2007–2008 Junior World Cup | Altenberg, Germany | November 30, 2007 | 1:24.267 | 4th | Youth A Women |
| 2007–2008 Junior World Cup | Innsbruck, Austria | December 7, 2007 | 1:34.128 | 29th | Youth A Women |
| 2007–2008 Junior World Cup | Königssee, Germany | December 14, 2007 | DNF | Youth A Women | |
| 2007–2008 Junior World Cup | Park City, USA | January 17, 2008 | 1:24.503 | 1st (Gold) | Youth A Women |
| 2007–2008 Junior World Cup | Calgary, Canada | January 24, 2008 | 1:32.068 | 1st (Gold) | Youth A Women |
| 2007–2008 Junior World Championship | Lake Placid, USA | February 7, 2008 | 1:29.105 | 1st (Gold) | Junior Women |
| February 8, 2008 | 2:18.676 | 1st (Gold) | Team Competition | ||
| 2008–2009 Junior World Cup | Winterberg, Germany | January 9, 2009 | 1:29.464 | 6th | Junior Women |
| 2008–2009 Junior World Cup | Altenberg, Germany | January 16, 2009 | 1:28.712 | 8th | Junior Women |
| 2008–2009 Junior World Cup | Innsbruck, Austria | January 23, 2009 | 1:22.877 | 12th | Junior Women |
| January 23, 2009 | 2:11.402 | 1st (Gold) | Team Competition | ||
| 2008–2009 Junior World Championship | Nagano, Japan | February 13, 2009 | 1:30.911 | 5th | Junior Women |
| February 14, 2009 | 2:26.116 | 2nd (Silver) | Team Competition | ||
| 2009–2010 Viessmann World Cup | Calgary, Canada | November 19, 2009 | 0:47.667 | 5th | Nation Cup Women |
| November 21, 2009 | 1:35.421 | 16th | World Cup Women | ||
| 2009–2010 Viessmann World Cup | Innsbruck, Austria | November 27, 2009 | 0:40.374 | 10th | Nation Cup Women |
| November 28, 2009 | 1:20.169 | 13th | World Cup Women | ||
| 2009–2010 Viessmann World Cup | Altenberg, Germany | December 4, 2009 | 0:55.784 | 24th | Nation Cup Women |
| 2009–2010 Viessmann World Cup | Lillehammer, Norway | December 11, 2009 | 0:49.752 | 17th | Nation Cup Women |
| 2009–2010 Junior World Cup | Königssee, Germany | January 15, 2010 | DNF | Junior Women | |
| 2009–2010 Junior World Cup | Oberhof, Germany | January 23, 2010 | 2:02.064 | 29th | Junior Women |
| 2009–2010 Junior World Cup | Winterberg, Germany | February 5, 2010 | 1:30.677 | 8th | Junior Women |
| 2009–2010 Junior World Championship | Innsbruck, Austria | January 31, 2010 | 1:20.246 | 3rd (Bronze) | Junior Women |
| January 31, 2010 | 2:11.961 | 3rd (Bronze) | Team Relay | ||
| 2010–2011 Viessmann World Cup | Park City, USA | December 18, 2010 | 0:44.260 | 9th | Nation Cup Women |
| 2010–2011 Junior World Cup | Altenberg, Germany | January 14, 2011 | 1:27.926 | 6th | Junior Women |
| 2010–2011 Junior World Cup | Innsbruck, Austria | January 28, 2011 | 1:21.873 | 18th | Junior Women |
| 2010–2011 Junior World Championship | Oberhof, Germany | February 5, 2011 | 1:28.844 | 6th | Junior Women |
| February 6, 2011 | 2:21.707 | 3rd (Bronze) | Team Relay | ||
| 2011–2012 Viessmann World Cup | 23rd | ||||
| 2012–2013 Viessmann World Cup | 20th Place | ||||
| 2013 National Championship | 1:29.601 | Gold | |||
| 2013 FIL World Championship | Whistler, Canada | 14th | |||
| 2013–2014 Viessmann World Cup including Team Relay | Winterberg, Germany | 2nd (Silver) | Team Relay | ||
| 7th | Women's Singles | ||||
| 2013–2014 Viessmann World Cup including Team Relay | Whistler, Canada | 6th Place | |||
| 2013–2014 Viessmann World Cup including Team Relay | Park City, Utah | 4th Place | |||
| 2013–2014 Viessmann World Cup | Lillehammer, Norway | 1:23.976 | 1st (Gold) | Women's Singles | |
| 2014 Olympic Games | Sochi, Russia | February 10, 2014 | 3:22.667 | 10th Place | Women's Singles |
| DNS = Did not start | DNF = Did not finish | ||||
Hansen appeared in the Olympics for the first time at Sochi 2014, where she had a 10th-place finish with a time of 3 minutes 22.667 seconds.
Hansen is a Mormon and currently attends Brigham Young University. She took a year off to attend the Olympics. She graduated from La Cañada High School.[3] She resides in La Cañada Flintridge, California.
Hansen is a fan of Beyoncé and listens to her exclusively while warming up for her races. She warms up by dancing, which became her trademark during the Sochi 2014 Olympics.[4] The official Facebook page of Beyonce posted the link to her dance warmup before Hansen's final race in the Sochi 2014 luge event, wishing her luck.[5] The dance apparently came about after she broke her foot and had trouble running to warm up.[6]
Hansen teamed up with Jimmy Kimmel in a prank video which made it seem that a wolf had broken into the apartment where she was staying. A few days later, they admitted to the prank after having scared the media, as well as security.