Veteran American bobsleigh rivals race with new perspective on medals and life

Elana Meyers Taylor and Kaillie Armbruster Humphries are competing in the monobob at Cortina, bringing decades of Olympic experience alongside recent changes in their family lives.

Elana Meyers Taylor and Kaillie Armbruster Humphries, both veteran American bobsledders, are racing in the monobob at the Cortina d'Ampezzo Games. They have a combined 81 years of life, 11 Olympic appearances and nine Olympic medals. Training concluded on Saturday ahead of monobob runs scheduled for Sunday and Monday. Both athletes say recent family changes and activism have given them a different view of medals and sport. Key facts: - The two athletes previously won gold and silver when monobob debuted four years ago and are competing again in Cortina. - Meyers Taylor is 41 and Armbruster Humphries is 40; together they have three children. - Meyers Taylor has two sons who were born deaf and one has Down syndrome, which she says has shifted her outlook. - Armbruster Humphries switched nationalities in 2021 after a reported dispute with Canadian officials and became the first woman to win Olympic gold for two different countries; she gave birth in June 2024 following an IVF journey. - Germany’s Laura Nolte and Lisa Buckwitz are among the other leading competitors noted during the week. Summary: Both athletes maintain strong competitive goals while emphasising how motherhood and other life experiences have reframed what Olympic success means to them. Monobob runs on Sunday and Monday will determine the first bobsleigh medals at these Games, followed later by the Two-Woman event.