ALTENBERG, Germany (December 4, 2021) – Kaillie Humphries (Carlsbad, Calif.) won her first World Cup race as an American citizen with her women’s monobob victory in Altenberg this morning. Elana Meyers Taylor (Douglasville, Ga.) finished sixth.

Humphries got her qualifying runs in on Tuesday, flew to Los Angeles, Calif. on Wednesday, was sworn in as an American citizen on Thursday, and then immediately flew back to Germany that afternoon so she could compete this weekend. USA Bobsled Head Coach Mike Kohn said she’s slept in six different beds over the last six nights, and was impressed with her ability to still come out to win a race.

“I still had days until yesterday where I’d wake up and wonder why I’m doing this, days where I lacked motivation,” Humphries said. “When things get hard you start to doubt, and when you don’t have the Olympics as the end goal that you’re fighting for, those doubts creep in. I love what I do, but being able to wake up today and not have the stress of not knowing whether or not I’d be able to compete in the Olympics was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.”

Humphries has been allowed to compete in World Cup and world championship events for the U.S., but the Olympic rules are tighter and mandate that an athlete have a passport of the country they are representing. Her application process was uncertain due to slowdowns from COVID-19, and it was unknown until this week if she would receive her citizenship in time.

Humphries’ husband, Travis Armbruster, and her teammates stayed in Altenberg to take care of her runners and sleds so that she didn’t need to worry about being prepared to race this weekend when she returned. Humphries said that the support she’s received over the last few seasons have been instrumental in her ability to keep going.

“I relied on my husband, my family, my team, and my sponsors who helped me regardless of if I was going to the games,” Humphries said. “They supported me as Kaillie, for who I am and not for what I do. It gave me confidence that I was doing the right thing by coming to the U.S. I stood up for my mental health and my safety, and came to a country that believes in me. The American dream is alive and well, and I’m living proof of that.”

Humphries started her campaign for the medals today with the eighth best start time of 6.28 seconds for the second best downtime of 1:00.23. Only Canadian Cynthia Appiah was faster with a run of 1:00.14. Humphries bettered her start to 6.26 seconds in the final heat, and overtook Appiah with the fastest run of 1:00.34. The newly sworn in American citizen was victorious by 0.06 seconds with a two-run total of 2:00.57.

Appiah fell back and finished second with a combined time of 2:00.63. Laura Nolta from Germany took bronze in 2:01.10.

Meyers Taylor had the second best start times of the field with pushes of 6.05 and 6.07 seconds. She struggled to keep the sled from skidding in the straight before the Kreisel corner in both heats. The three-time Olympic medalist had the ninth fastest downtime of 1:00.95 in the first heat, and the seventh best time of 1:00.92 in the second run to move up into sixth place with a combined time of 2:01.87. Meyers Taylor continues to lead in women’s monobob points thanks to two victories in the first two races of the season.

“I’m still working to figure out monobob,” Meyers Taylor said. “This track is especially hard to keep the sled straight in a monobob. I still want to win every week, but this was a much better result than last year when I was on my head. I’m really looking forward to coming back again in a couple of weeks. It doesn’t hurt to have Kaillie’s lines to study, she’s really great on this track.”

The two-man bobsled competition is up next at 1:30 p.m. local time. Streaming will be available via desktop at olympics.com/en/live/, and via mobile, tablet and connected television platforms on the Olympic Channel app. Check local listings for broadcast times on the Olympic Channel and OlympicChannel.com.

For media inquiries, please contact USABS Marketing and Communications Director Amanda Bird at amanda.bird@usabs.com.

###

Results

1. Kaillie Humphries (USA) 2:00.57 (1:00.23, 1:00.34);

2. Cynthia Appiah (CAN) 2:00.63 (1:00.14, 1:00.49);

3. Laura Nolte (GER) 2:01.10 (1:00.46, 1:00.64);

6. Elana Meyers Taylor (USA) 2:01.87 (1:00.95, 1:00.92);

About USA Bobsled/Skeleton

USA Bobsled/Skeleton (USABS), based in Lake Placid, N.Y., is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton in the United States. For more information, please visit the USABS website at www.usabs.com. Individuals interested in becoming a bobsled or skeleton athlete can visit www.usabobsledskeleton.com.

Humphries wins first World Cup race as an American citizen today

Loading...

Loading...