Kaillie Humphries, Elana Meyers Taylor Go 1-2 In Monobob World Cup Finale

Elana Meyers Taylor competes in her first run during the women's monobob at the 2021 IBSF World Championships on Feb. 13, 2021 in Altenberg, Germany.

Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor stood next to each other and posed while holding up the medals draped around their necks.
The American teammates had plenty to celebrate Saturday.
Humphries won the gold medal at the final women’s monobob world cup event of the season with a combined run of 2 minutes, 22.27 seconds in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Meyers Taylor finished 0.04 seconds behind Humphries to earn the silver with a time of 2:22.31 and clinch the overall women’s monobob title for the season. Canadian Cynthia Appiah, who had stayed close to Meyers Taylor and Humphries in the standings throughout the season, took the bronze at 2:23.22.
“That was a close one,” Humphries said. “My runs weren’t without flaws, especially the second run, but overall I’m super happy I got to race here today. This is an amazing track, and it feels so nice when you do it right.”
With the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 set to begin in less than a month, Humphries and Meyers Taylor solidified their places as medal contenders in the new Olympic discipline.
Meyers Taylor secured the overall world cup title with 1,110 points, followed by Humphries at 1,052 points. Appiah finished the season in third at 1,012 points.
“I wasn’t focused on the overall title at all. I was just trying to work every week on getting better and better,” Meyers Taylor said. “I know I have a much bigger battle ahead. Beijing is unlike any track on tour and it’s going to be a tough challenge. It’s not going to be easy to walk away with the victory.”
Humphries, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the two-woman bobsled, got off to a fast start in St. Mortiz, crossing the finish line on her first run in 1:11.28 with the lead. She improved her time on her second run and posted a time of 1:10.99 to hold off Meyers Taylor for the gold.
Meyers Taylor, who has won two Olympic silver medals and one bronze, stood only 0.15 seconds behind Humphries after her first run of 1:11.43. However, the Douglasville, Georgia, native, couldn’t make up enough ground despite the fastest second run of 1:10.88.
“My last run felt really good,” Meyers Taylor said. “I made up a lot of ground in that second run, and four-hundredths is really close. Any day you came away with a medal is a good day.”