LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (Dec. 14, 2019)– Kaillie Humphries (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Lauren Gibbs (Los Angeles, Calif.) swept the women’s bobsled World Cup races in Lake Placid after winning today by 0.15 seconds. Humphries has solidified herself as the World Cup leader heading into the second half of the season.
“It’s always great to start the season off with double wins on your home track,” said Humphries, who learned to drive in Lake Placid. “I definitely made some mistakes and I’m trying not to eat myself up over those. You want to continue getting better, but it’s hard. I’m still knocking some of the rust off.”
Humphries, who hails from Calgary, Canada, took last season off. Her first time back in a bobsled since the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics was in preparation for USA Bobsled National Team trials last month. Humphries and Gibbs, who claimed the 2018 Olympic silver medal with Elana Meyers Taylor, have only had a few weeks together.
“We will always be looking to work better together because we’re both perfectionists,” said Gibbs, who’s trained with Humphries in the same facility during the offseason for the last few years. “Even as a rookie athlete I’ve always looked up to her. She’s constantly a professional and she’s always teaching me something.”
The duo powered the Omaze sled off the start in 5.49 seconds in today’s opening heat. Humphries navigated the sled to the finish in 56.50 seconds to lead the field by a distant 0.13 seconds, making the statement that they weren’t just there to compete, but to win.
The field responded in the second heat with impressive downtimes to put pressure on the leaders. Humphries and Gibbs bettered their start to a 5.48, and the pair crossed the finish line with the second-best time of 57.53 seconds. Their combined time of 1:54.03 was enough to secure gold.
“I’ve still got some learning to do,” Humphries said. “Overall, I’m happy to be able to start here and to have a strong showing. I’m really proud of Gibbs. We got stronger and faster this week, which is awesome. The competition is tough and they are coming back strong. It will be a hard second half, but I’m excited for the challenge and opportunity.”
Kim Kalicki and Erline Nolte from Germany were the closest team to challenge the Americans. Kalicki and Nolte claimed silver in 1:54.18. Canadian Christine De Bruin and Kristen Bujnowski posted the fastest time of the second heat to move up from fourth into bronze medal position with a combined time of 1:54.25.
Brittany Reinbolt (Searcy, Ark.) and Sylvia Hoffman (Arlington, Texas) finished eighth today with a total time of 1:55.28. The duo clocked start times of 5.60 and 5.62 seconds for runs of 57.21 and 58.07 seconds, respectively, in the KOA branded sled.
“I’m a little disappointed,” Reinbolt said. “I don’t feel like these results are a true demonstration of my ability. It’s been a really long offseason. Now we’re here, and I didn’t take advantage of being on a home track, but I’m looking forward to next half and seeing what we can do.”
Missing from tour this season is three-time Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor. Meyers Taylor and her husband, Nic Taylor, are expecting their first child this spring. Meyers Taylor has stayed involved with the team while pregnant by coaching development athletes, and commented today’s races.
The second four-man bobsled competition will take place at 10 a.m. tomorrow to conclude the Lake Placid event. The World Cup tour will then break for the holiday before resuming in Europe for the second half of the season.
NBC Sports and Olympic Channel will have broadcast and digital streaming coverage of the IBSF Bobsled & Skeleton World Cup in Lake Placid. Fans can catch all the action in spectacular high definition via NBC Sports online at NBCSports.com/Live, or through the NBC Sports app which is available on the Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Additional coverage will be available on OlympicChannel.com and the Olympic Channel app.
Please contact USABS Marketing & Communications Director Amanda Bird at 518-354-2250, or amanda.bird@usabs.com, with media inquiries.
Results
1. Kaillie Humphries and Lauren Gibbs (USA) 1:54.03 (56.50, 57.53); 2. Kim Kalicki and Erline Nolte (GER) 1:54.18 (56.63, 57.55); 3. Christine De Bruin and Kristen Bunjnowski (CAN) 1:54.25 (56.73, 57.52); 8. Brittany Reinbolt and Sylvia Hoffman (USA) 1:55.28 (57.21, 58.07);
About USA Bobsled & Skeleton USA Bobsled & Skeleton (USABS), based in Lake Placid, N.Y., is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton in the United States. USABS would like to thank its sponsors, suppliers and contributors for their support: BMW of North America, Under Armour, Kampgrounds of America, BiPro, Boomerang Carnets, Hudl, Tesa Tape, PVS International, Ferris Mfg. Corp, Machintek, deBotech and Carpenter. For more information, please visit the USABS website at www.usabs.com.
Source: TeamUSA