By Jessica Eblie
When the women’s doubles luge competition launches at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Italy, former long-time Carman residents, Wayne and Carol Allan, will be watching with pride. Their granddaughter, 22-year-old Kailey Allan, will be representing Team Canada in the inaugural women’s doubles luge event.
Team Canada women’s doubles luge team Kailey Allan and Beattie Podulsky training in Whistler, B.C. on Oct. 20, 2025
Kailey will compete on Feb. 11 in Cortina d’Ampezzo as part of Canada’s women’s doubles luge team, with her partner Beattie Podulsky. While doubles luge has been an Olympic event for decades, Milano Cortina 2026 will mark the sport’s debut for women. The discipline features two athletes racing together on a single sled, requiring precise timing, communication and trust while reaching speeds of more than 130 kilometres per hour.
For Wayne and Carol, who lived in Carman for nearly 40 years before moving to rural British Columbia in 2015, the moment is historic, celebratory and deeply personal. “We were in Carman for about 40 years,” Carol said. Carol added that she still hears from friends in Carman who are following Kailey’s Olympic run via Facebook.
According to Kailey’s parents, Stacey and Don, she has always been a superb athlete. “She did every sport she could growing up,” Carol said. “She did ski racing, competitive softball, and track, (but) as you go along and get older, you have to start weeding out some of these sports.”
Kailey first stepped onto a luge sled at age 10, after spotting a sign in Calgary inviting youngsters to try the sport. What began as a summer camp soon became a high-performance pursuit, carrying her from training sessions to international competition venues around the world.
For the first 11 years of her luge career, Kailey competed as a singles slider. She represented Canada at the Youth Olympic Games in 2020 in St. Moritz, Switzerland, gaining experience on the international stage and earning a seventh-place finish overall.
Kailey came up short in qualifying for the women’s singles luge event at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, but nevertheless persisted in her efforts to qualify for the 2026 Games. That determination ultimately led to a new goal — women’s doubles luge.
About 18 months ago, Kailey and fellow Calgary-based athlete Beattie Podulsky decided to partner up, forming one of Canada’s most competitive women’s doubles luge teams. “They were both single sliders previously and thought, well, Canada needed a doubles women’s team,” Stacey said.
Despite their recent partnership, the duo has already found success. Last season, they earned a bronze medal at the Under-23 World Championships and another bronze as part of Canada’s mixed team relay at the International Luge Federation (FIL) World Championships in Whistler, BC. In the lead-up to the Olympics, the duo ranks just outside the top 10 internationally in women’s doubles and has placed well in qualifying competitions leading up to Milano Cortina.
“Their goal is to do well (at the Olympics), probably place in the top eight, maybe top six,” stated Stacey.
According to the Allan family, luge is “the fastest sport on ice.” Singles sliders can reach speeds exceeding 143 kilometres per hour, while doubles athletes face added challenges of weight, balance, unison and trust.
For the duo of Kailey Allan and Podulsky, Kailey rides on the bottom of the sled, with her partner lying on top of her. The athletes are secured together, navigating narrow ice corridors at extreme speeds, all while trying to be the fastest team in order to win the event.
“It’s kind of like driving a double-decker bus down an F-1 track,” Stacey said.
Despite the intensity, Kailey’s family describes her as someone who balances competitiveness with joy. “She’s determined and driven, but she’s having fun,” Stacey added. “There’s always a smile on her face.”
As the Allan family prepares to travel to Italy to support Kailey in person, they say the experience has already been incredible. Beyond medals and rankings, they hope Kailey’s journey sends a message to young athletes.
“Anything’s possible,” Carol said. “The places she’s been, the people she’s met. Sport builds character and life experience.”
In a text communication, Kailey stated that she is looking forward to competing and has done everything possible to prepare for these Games. “I’m super excited to compete in my first Olympic Games and represent Canada in the first ever women’s doubles event,” she added.
Although Carman was never Allan’s hometown, her family’s decades-long presence in the community means her Olympic debut is being followed with interest by residents who knew her grandparents and have watched her career unfold from afar.
As the Olympics approach, Allan’s participation offers local readers a chance to witness both an Olympic first and the success of an athlete connected to the community through family roots rather than residence. Kailey’s Olympic moment is a reminder that no matter where you grew up in Canada or who you are, Olympic dreams can take shape and slide all the way to the global stage.
