Humphries in second place at halfway point of women’s monobob World Championships

Photo credit: Getty Images

ALTENBERG, Germany (Feb. 13, 2021) –Kaillie Humphries (Carlsbad, Calif.) is in second place at the halfway point of the first-ever women’s monobob World Championships in Altenberg. Only 0.04 seconds separate her from the lead, and ultimately the historic title as the first women’s monobob world champion. Elana Meyers Taylor (Douglasville, Ga.) crashed in the first heat, but she laid it all on the line in the second heat to move into 19th place.

“After all of my years of experience, I know that it’s not over until it’s over,” Humphries said. “Anything can happen. A lot can be won or lost in one run, and there’s still a lot of racing to do.”

Humphries started her campaign for the medals with a start time of 6.21 seconds, fifth best of the first heat, for the fourth best downtime of 1:00.39. She came off the block in 6.24 seconds in run two, and put her mark on the competition with the fastest second heat time of 1:00.17. Humphries moved up two positions into second place with a total time of 2:00.56. 

“I wanted to make run two better than run one,” Humphries said. “I had trouble with corner nine and sliding down that long straight, so I’ll keep working on that for tomorrow. We’ve only had so many runs on this track, and we didn’t get our monobob sleds until January. We’re still learning, and on one of the most technically challenging tracks in the world. To be amongst the German is a good place to be.”

Team Germany is currently in first, third, fourth, and fifth positions. Stephanie Schneider currently leads for Germany with a time of 2:00.52, but she’ll enter tomorrow with Humphries only 0.04 seconds behind. German Laura Nolte is currently third with a 2:00.70, followed by Mariama Jamanka in fourth and Kim Kalicki in fifth. 

After finishing fifth in the two-woman race, Meyers Taylor wrote in a Facebook post that Altenberg was a struggle for her. She wrote that “this track in Altenberg, Germany, is one of my hardest tracks…” It proved challenging for the three-time Olympic medalist again in today’s opening heat. Meyers Taylor posted the second best start time of 6.03 seconds, and held the lead before crashing out of corner nine. The sled came back on its runners before the Kreisel corner, and she crossed the finish line in 1:03.14. 

“We have very limited experience in monobob,” Meyers Taylor said. “I got into a bad position and I didn’t know how to react. That’s racing sometimes.”

Meyers Taylor did not hold back in the second run. She powered off the block with a record-breaking start time of 6.00 seconds, and navigated to the finish with the ninth best time of 1:00.94. She moved up into 19th place with a two-run total of 2:04.08. 

“I felt like I had a chance to be in the medals, but that’s racing, it’s not always going to go the way you want it to,” Meyers Taylor said. “My biggest goal now is to show that I’m a fighter. Nico is here, and he might not remember this race, but he’ll see it one day and see that his mama was willing to fight.”

Meyers Taylor is traveling this season with her husband, Nic Taylor, and their 11-month-old son, Nico.

The third and fourth runs of the women’s monobob race will begin at 9 a.m. local time tomorrow. Fans can watch the races on NBCSN, OlympicChannel.com, and the Olympic Channel.

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

Results

1. Stephanie Schneider (GER) 2:00.52 (1:00.07, 1:00.45);

2. Kaillie Humphries (USA) 2:00.56 (1:00.39, 1:00.17);

3. Laura Nolte (GER) 2:00.70 (1:00.00, 1:00.70);

19. Elana Meyers Taylor (USA) 2:04.08 (1:03.14, 1:00.94);

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.