Humphries Armbruster gets 1st World Cup bobsled win as a mom
Kaillie Humphries Armbruster won dozens of races during her bobsleigh career. The victory she won on Sunday was unlike any other.
It was her first since she was 40. And it was her first since becoming a mother.
Less than two months before the Olympic Games in Milan Cortina, Humphries Armbruster seems to be at his best again. She teamed with Emily Renna to win a two-man World Cup race in Sigulda, Latvia, her first victory on the circuit since winning a monobob race at that same track on February 18, 2023.
“To be back at the top after three years is great,” said Humphries Armbruster, who held his son Aulden – who wore a knitted cap from Cortina, the site of the Olympic races in February – on the medal podium. “This is my first win as a mom and a first win for Emily. It’s a special win for both of us. I’m proud of how we performed at the start and on the track.”
It was the 31st two-man World Cup victory for Humphries Armbruster, the 35th World Cup gold medal when adding the monobob victories, and the 43rd of his career when counting the Olympics and world championship races.
The victory also ended a 20-match World Cup winning streak for Germany in the two-man event, dating back to January 22, 2023 in Altenberg – with Humphries Armbruster also winning that day. She misses the following season to start her family, returning to the circuit in December 2024.
Sunday’s victory gave Renna her first World Cup gold medal as a braker and her third World Cup medal overall; two of those three medals were won while she was on the back of Humphries Armbruster’s sled.
“Today was a special win because it was Kaillie’s first win since becoming a mom and my first World Cup win,” Renna said. “I’m really proud of how we focused on what we could control and how we put together a really great race as a team.”
Americans have new momentum as the Christmas holidays approach. Humphries Armbruster is now second in the World Cup standings in the two-man bobsleigh, reigning monobob world champion Kaysha Love has four medals in eight races this year, and Elana Meyers Taylor – who won two monobob races last season after turning 40 – finished fourth in both the two-man and monobob races in Sigulda this weekend.
Germany took silver and bronze on Sunday, with Lisa Buckwitz and Lauryn Siebert finishing second and Laura Nolte and Leonie Kluwig third. Nolte has medaled in all eight two-man and single-bob races this season, and she leads the World Cup standings in both disciplines.
Meyers Taylor teamed with Jadin O’Brien to finish fourth in the two-man race on Sunday. It was the World Cup debut for O’Brien, a three-time NCAA indoor pentathlon national champion at Notre Dame. O’Brien rode bobsled for the first time less than three months ago.
Johannes Lochner returned to the top of the podium by beating Francesco Friedrich for the third time this season. Friedrich finished second and Adam Ammour third, his fourth bronze medal of the season.
Frank Del Duca teamed with Hunter Powell to finish sixth and lead the American contingent.
Luge: World Cup men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles on January 3 in Sigulda.
Skeleton: Men’s, women’s and mixed team racing World Cup, January 2 in Winterberg.
