KAILLIE HUMPHRIES

Kaillie Humphries of the U.S. got a milestone medal Saturday, winning a World Cup women’s monobob race for the 100th top-three finish of her career in major international competition.

U.S.-born athletes have taken centerstage at the Winter Olympics in Beijing — for the host country, that is, generating scrutiny of nationality switching.

Kaillie Humphries is now, officially, an American.

Reigning world champion Kaillie Humphries has been announced as part of this season’s USA Bobsled national team.

Kaillie Humphries is the reigning women’s bobsled world champion and would be the gold-medal favorite in two events at the Beijing Olympics this winter.

Humphries ended her international season Sunday by winning the inaugural women’s monobob world championship in Altenberg, Germany, adding that gold medal to the one she and Lolo Jones claimed on the same track last weekend. Like Humphries, Germany's Francesco Friedrich won double gold at worlds, capping off an easy four-man win later Sunday in 3:35.02. It's the fifth consecutive year that he has swept the two- and four-man golds at either the world championships or Olympics, and his 11th world championship overall. Each of Humphries’ five medals were golds; two from worlds, one in World Cup and two in the Monobob World Series. “Her experience, patience and talent helped her win this gold medal for Team USA,” U.S. coach Mike Kohn said.

United State's bobsleigh pilot Kaillie Humphries speeds down the track during the women's monobob race at the Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championships in Altenberg, Germany, Saturday, Feb.13, 2021. Humphries is in second place midway through the inaugural women’s monobob world championship race, trailing Germany’s Stephanie Schneider by 0.04 seconds after Saturday’s first two runs in Altenberg, Germany. Humphries competed in two monobob races this season, winning both. Elana Meyers Taylor, the other American in the women’s monobob field at worlds, crashed in her first run Saturday and is well out of medal contention. Jones won two golds, one in a World Cup race with Humphries and the other in the world championships last weekend.

Humphries is the world women’s bobsled champion for a record fourth time, teaming with Lolo Jones to win the title on a snowy day in Altenberg, Germany. “This feels great.”Humphries also won world championships in 2012, 2013 and 2020, along with Olympic golds in 2010 and 2014. AdGermany’s Sandra Kiriasis is the only other three-time women’s world champion. Jones is now a world champion in two different sports — winning those crowns in three different decades. It was the 11th world bobsled title for the U.S.Holcomb won three of those gold medals — and his presence was still felt this year as well.

This season’s bobsled and skeleton world championships were awarded to Altenberg, Germany, and moved out of Lake Placid, New York, on Tuesday because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic and potential travel complications. The International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation said it made the move “to protect the health of athletes and spectators across the globe.” Lake Placid will be awarded the 2025 world championships instead. The IBSF plans to release the updated schedule for the entire bobsled and skeleton season, including World Cup races, later Tuesday. Most of the athletes in the world championships would be coming from Europe. Altenberg played host to bobsled and skeleton worlds this past season as well; Germany won gold medals in men’s skeleton, women’s skeleton, two-man bobsled and four-man bobsled.