Two-time Olympic bobsled champion Kaillie Humphries left her native Canada because of harassment and now dreams of competing in a fourth Olympic Games, this time as an American.
Wearing a USA sweater, her hair pulled back with a starry headband, one of the top-ranked female bobsledders was all smiles after “a really great week.”
“I feel a bit overwhelmed, I won’t lie,” she told reporters with a laugh during an interview in Altenberg, Germany, where she was competing in the Bobsled World Cup.
Photo: AP
The 36-year-old, originally from Calgary in western Canada, just learned that her two-year pursuit of American citizenship was successful, opening the door for her to represent the US at the Beijing Olympics in February.
Two days later, she climbed to the top of the podium, marking her 28th World Cup victory.
Coming after “major ups and downs” over the past three to four years, she said she feels “a big sense of pride and accomplishment.”
In August 2018, Humphries filed a complaint against her trainer, alleging harassment.
It led to a break with the Canadian team and her move to the US, which permitted her to represent the country at the World Cup in 2019.
Subsequently, an independent investigation by the Canadian bobsled federation concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prove the alleged harassment.
“My sporting career was over in Canada,” she said. “I knew that it was no longer safe for me to continue in that environment.”
She described every day being “fearful of [my] environment; you don’t know if you’re going to get punched in the face if you say the wrong thing,” adding that she was threatened physically, as well as “degraded publicly, humiliated ... bullied and abused.”
Walking away in the end “was not an easy decision,” she said.
Now Humphries is dreaming of adding two more Olympic medals to her collection at the Beijing Games, in two-woman bobsled and women’s monobob — a new addition to the Olympics.
She previously won gold in 2010 and 2014, and bronze in 2018.
She is convinced that the challenges of the past few years have made her stronger, while advocating for a sport free from tyrannical and violent coaches.
“The shift is so freeing, and I feel so free and safe and empowered in this current environment,” she said of her move to join Team USA.
“I am with like-minded people [who] push me to be the best that I can be physically and mentally,” she said.
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