IGLS, Austria (November 20, 2021) – Elana Meyers Taylor (Douglasville, Ga.) and Kaillie Humphries (Carlsbad, Calif.) finished 1-2 in the first women’s monobob World Cup race of the Olympic season today. 

“It feels really good to come out to take the win today and it feels awesome to have two U.S. drivers in the medals,” Meyers Taylor said. “This track and this field always make for tight racing, and it’s fun. While I would love to have a huge lead, I really like it when races are close like this.”

Meyers Taylor posted the second fastest start time of 5.83 seconds in the opening heat for a downtime of 55.25 seconds to tie Germany’s Laura Nolte for the lead. Meyers Taylor, a three-time Olympic medalist, pushed off the block in 5.88 seconds in the final heat for an identical finish time of 55.25 seconds. She finished 0.13 seconds ahead of the field to secure her win with a total time of 1:50.63.

“For me, monobob is still a learning process,” Meyers Taylor said. “All of our brakemen helped with sled preparations so that we are prepared for both monobob and two-man, so it’s a team effort.”

Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor spent years pushing for a second women’s bobsled discipline to be included in the Olympic program, and monobob was showcased at the 2016 Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer. Two years later, the IOC announced that women’s monobob was added to the 2022 Beijing schedule, and this is the second season that the discipline has been a part of the World Cup series.

This week was Humphries’ first time driving a monobob on the Austrian track. She opted to skip the Igls World Cup last season to better prepare for the 2021 World Championships. The decision paid off; Humphries is the reigning women’s monobob and two-woman bobsled world champion. 

“Today felt really good,” Humphries said. “I made a few mistakes, especially in corner nine. I changed it in the second run, but it wasn’t any better. I know what I did wrong and what to do tomorrow.”

Humphries was in third place after a first run time of 55.27 seconds, and she posted the third best time of 55.36 seconds in the final heat. She was able to claim the silver medal in 1:50.63 after Nolte, who was tied with Meyers Taylor for the lead in the first heat, fell back into bronze medal position with only the sixth best time of the run.

Humphries clocked nearly identical start times of 5.95 and 5.94 seconds, both seventh best of the field, today. She said she was pleased with her performance compared to last season.

“It feels good to be pushing better this year,” Humphries said. “I tore my hamstring early this summer, so it’s a good sign that my push times are where they should be. There are still a few months left before the Olympics, but this is a good start. Team USA finishing first and second shows the strength of our program, and it will be a battle between me, Elana, the Germans, and the Canadians.”

The women will be back on ice tomorrow with the two-woman event at 9 a.m. The Igls World Cup continues today with the two-man bobsled competition at 3 p.m. local time. Fans can stream the races via desktop at http://olympics.com/en/live/, and via mobile, tablet and connected television platforms on the Olympic Channel app. Please check your local listings for coverage on the Olympic Channel and OlympicChannel.com.

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

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Results

1. Elana Meyers Taylor (USA) 1:50.50 (55.25, 55.25);

2. Kaillie Humphries (USA) 1:50.63 (55.27, 55.36);

3. Laura Nolte (GER) 1:50.64 (55.25, 55.39);

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.