Photo credit: IBSF / Viesturs Lacis

IGLS, Austria (November 28, 2021) – Elana Meyers Taylor (Douglasville, Ga.) teamed with Kaysha Love (Heriman, Utah) for fifth place in this morning’s two-woman bobsled World Cup race in Igls. This was Love’s debut performance on the elite circuit. Reigning world champions Kaillie Humphries (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Lolo Jones (Des Moines, Iowa) finished 10th.

“My first run was alright, but I made some major mistakes in the second run that cost us,” Meyers Taylor said. “Putting four runs together is going to take some time. I’m always working to improve and trying different things, so I’m trying to approach it one day at a time.”

Meyers Taylor was victorious for the second consecutive week in the women’s monobob competition yesterday. This is the first season to include the discipline in every World Cup stop, and it’s been an adjustment for Meyers Taylor to switch between the two sleds.

Meyers Taylor and Love were a powerhouse team at the start today, clocking the fastest push times of 5.50 and 5.45 seconds. The Germans were the only teams to come close to the Americans at the start with a push time of 5.51 seconds by Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi in the first heat and a 5.51 by Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig in the second heat.

“For Kaysha to step up like that today is really amazing, and I’m excited to see what she will do the rest of the season,” Meyers Taylor said.

Love was discovered through the USA Bobsled/Skeleton virtual combine on GMTM.com in 2020. She was a standout track and field athlete at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she helped the Rebels to a pair of Mountain West Indoor championships in 2018 and 2020. She also earned All-MW Team accolades twice as an individual and six times as a member of a relay team, and claimed USTFCCCA Second Team All-America honors as a member of the 4x100m relay in both 2017 and 2018.

Meyers Taylor navigated the Kamgrounds of America sled to the finish in 53.73 and 53.38 seconds, fourth and fifth best of the field, respectively. Meyers Taylor and Love finished fifth with a combined time of 1:47.11.

Nolte and Levi were victorious over their teammates Kalicki and Fiebig by a mere 0.06 seconds. They claimed gold in 1:46.71, while Kalicki and Fiebig earned silver in 1:46.77. Canadians Christine De Bruin and Kristen Bujnowski finished third with a two-run total of 1:46.86.

Reigning world champions Humphries and Jones clocked a start time of 5.62 seconds in both heats, only 10th and 11th best of the field. Humphries threaded together runs of 53.99 and 53.77 seconds for a combined time of 1:47.76 to finish 10th.

The World Cup tour will make its next stop in Altenberg, Germany, where Humphries won the 2021 and 2020 World Championship titles in two-woman bobsled and the 2021 inaugural women’s monobob title.

Racing continues at 2 p.m. with the four-man bobsled event. 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.

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Results

1. Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi (GER) 1:46.71 (53.45, 53.26);

2. Kim Kalicki and Leonie Fiebig (GER) 1:46.77 (53.33, 53.24);

3. Christine De Bruin and Kristen Bujnowski (CAN) 1:46.86 (53.52, 53.34);

5. Elana Meyers Taylor and Kaysha Love (USA) 1:47.11 (53.73, 53.38);

10. Kaillie Humphries and Lolo Jones (USA) 1:47.76 (53.99, 53.77);

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.

Meyers Taylor and Love finish fifth in women’s bobsled World Cup in Igls

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