ALTENBERG, Germany — U.S. bobsledder Kaillie Humphries is gearing up to make her return to the World Cup circuit on Saturday, marking her first competitive race since becoming a mother six months ago.
The three-time Olympic champion will participate in the women’s monobob event at Altenberg, kicking off the World Cup schedule for bobsledding. Humphries, who is the current Olympic champion in monobob after her victory at the 2022 Beijing Games, last faced top international opponents during a World Cup event on February 18, 2023.
Taking the previous season off to focus on motherhood, Humphries and her husband, former U.S. bobsledder Travis Armbruster, welcomed their son in mid-June. Despite the challenges of new motherhood, Humphries resumed training shortly after giving birth, showcasing her commitment and determination to get back into competition shape for this season.
Armbruster shared his admiration for her tenacity on social media, expressing his belief that she might be super-human.
On the same day as Humphries’ return, the two-man bobsled race will take place in Altenberg, with additional women’s bobsled and four-man events scheduled for Sunday.
In skeleton news, Belgium’s Kim Meylemans celebrated her first World Cup victory during a weather-shortened women’s race in Altenberg on Friday. This win occurred in her 65th career start.
Meylemans secured gold by edging out Germany’s Susanne Kreher and Hannah Neise in a competition that was limited to one heat instead of the usual two due to heavy snowfall and time constraints that delayed the start of the races for nearly two hours.
“Competing under challenging weather conditions is always tough,” Meylemans remarked. “I must commend the IBSF for delaying the race, as it undoubtedly provided better conditions than racing earlier would have.” Despite the single-heat format being challenging, Meylemans recognized the need to give her best performance.
Sara Roderick was the top American performer in the women’s race, finishing ninth — matching her best World Cup finish to date—in only her 12th career start.
In the men’s event, which followed the traditional two-heat format, reigning Olympic champion Christopher Grotheer from Germany achieved his fourth consecutive win this season, further solidifying his lead in the World Cup standings. British athletes claimed the next two spots, with Matt Weston taking second for his fourth medal of the season, while Marcus Wyatt finished third.
Austin Florian led the American contingent, finishing sixth in the men’s race.
Looking ahead, the World Cup skeleton tour will continue next weekend in Sigulda, Latvia.
Additionally, the World Cup luge circuit is underway in Igls, Austria, this weekend. This marks the second of nine stops on the season’s calendar, featuring women’s doubles, men’s doubles, and women’s singles events on Saturday, followed by the men’s singles race and a team relay on Sunday.