Kaillie Humphries Wins First Women’s Monobob World Cup Race

Kaillie Humphries speaks to the media during an international press conference for the BMW IBSF World Championships Altenberg 2020 on Feb. 19, 2020 in Altenberg, Germany.

Kaillie Humphries became the first winner of a world cup women’s monobob race Saturday in St. Moritz, Switzerland, while U.S. teammate Elana Meyers Taylor finished fifth.
A monobob is an individual bobsled that organizers hope will lower the barrier to entry for competing in the sport. The sleds have been contested at the Winter Youth Olympic Games since 2016 and a women’s monobob event will be held in the Olympic Winter Games for the first time in 2022 in Beijing.
In her first race at the helm of a monobob, Humphries, a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Canada before joining Team USA last season, won with a combined two-run time of 2:22.35. Germany’s Laura Nolte, the 2016 Youth Olympic champion, was second with a time of 2:22.55, followed by Switzerland’s Martinia Fontanive at 2:22.64.
Meyers Taylor, a three-time Olympic medalist also racing a monobob for the first time, was fast off the starts and finished in 2:22.78.
Two-woman bobsled made its Olympic debut in 2002, joining two- and four-man bobsled. The addition of women’s monobob in 2022 will allow for equal medal opportunities for men and women in the sport. Because monobob requires just one athlete and everyone uses an identical sled, officials hope it will be cheaper, allowing more countries to be competitive.
Women’s monobob had been part of a different racing series prior to this weekend.
The St. Moritz World Cup wraps up on Sunday with races in two-woman and four-man bobsled.