The Michigan-based chemicals company will continue as the official technical partner of the national governing body "underscoring both organisations’ commitment to combining science and speed to improve sled performance", according to USA Luge.

"The Dow partnership has brought a new level of analysis and understanding of how science and technology improve the environment that we operate in," Olympic silver medallist Gordy Sheer, now the director of marketing and sponsorship of USA Luge, said.

"Their direct, hands-on collaboration with our team has elevated our sliders’ ability to perform stronger in races from the outset, and we are looking forward to continuing our teamwork with them."

Engineers and scientists from Dow and USA Luge have worked together for many years in both laboratories and on-track environments to make sleds more precise, reliable, faster and more capable to withstand the high demands of the sport.

Since partnering with Dow, USA Luge has enjoyed historic successes, including earning more than 100 World Cup and World Championship medals.

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Erin Hamlin won the first-ever US luge singles medal with a bronze.

That was followed four years later at Pyeongchang 2018 by Chris Mazdzer’s first US men’s singles medal.

But at last year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing, the US failed to win a luge medal for the first time since Vancouver 2010.

They will be hoping that the renewal of this partnership will help them get back on the podium at the 2026 Winter Olympics, due to be hosted in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, where the sliding events will be held.

"USA Luge came to us with a need for greater speed, providing us a unique opportunity to apply our materials science expertise to help them win," said Bob Plishka, global director of sports partnerships at Dow.

"The innovations our teams have developed together have led to a breakthrough performance for USA Luge and demonstrate what technical partnerships like this can achieve."

Emily Sweeney, a bronze medallist in the women’s singles at the 2019 International Luge Federation World Luge Championships in Winterberg, knows the value of the partnership with Dow.

"Our team has been putting in the hours to be the best we can be, striving for the fastest times possible, and our partnership with Dow has helped us to step into the next level of performance," she said.

"Every thousandth of a second counts when you’re on the track, and Dow’s scientists have taken that notion, combined with our team’s insights, to create innovative solutions that optimise our speed."