TEAM USA
ALTENBERG, Germany (Feb. 19, 2020)– USA Bobsled/Skeleton (USABS) is proud to announce the 12 athletes selected to compete for the U.S. in the 2020 World Championships, which will take place in Altenberg, Germany beginning Feb. 21 through March 1.
Races will be held in a four-heat format. The athlete or team with the lowest combined time over four heats will be declared the winner. This year will also feature a new mixed skeleton team event.
Kaillie Humphries (Carlsbad, Calif.) earned five medals in women’s bobsled World Cup races this season, and three of those medals were with Lauren Gibbs (Los Angeles, Calif.). All three of those medals were gold, and the pair has been selected to battle for gold together once again in Altenberg. Humphries is one of the only women’s pilots that can challenge the Germans on their home track. She’s won the last three World Cup races in Altenberg while competing for Team Canada.
Altenberg is yet another new track for men’s bobsled driver Hunter Church (Cadyville, N.Y.) to learn, but it hasn’t stopped him from finding success in his debut World Cup season. The young American made an impression on the international field with six top-six finishes, including a four-man bonze medal performance. Josh Williamson (Lake Mary, Fla.) has been selected to race with Church in this weekend’s two-man bobsled competition. Jimmy Reed (Garmisch, Germany) and Kris Horn (Pembroke, Mass.) will join Williamson in Church’s four-man sled next week.
Megan Henry (Roxbury, Conn.), Savannah Graybill (Denver, Pa.), and Kendall Wesenberg (Modesto, Calif.) have earned their spots to compete for the U.S. in the women’s skeleton event next week. Graybill has the most experience in Altenberg of the three athletes; she’s entered a combination of seven World Cup, Intercontinental Cup, and European Cup races on the German track. Wesenberg has competed in four World Cup races in Altenberg, while Henry has raced in just two Intercontinental Cup competitions on the technical course.
Austin Florian (Southington, Conn.) and Andrew Blaser (Meridian, Idaho) have been named as the two men’s skeleton athletes that will represent the U.S. Florian has competed in one World Cup rac and two European Cup competitions in Altenberg, while this will be Blaser’s first time racing the German track.
NBC Sports and the Olympic Channel will have broadcast and digital streaming coverage of the IBSF Bobsled & Skeleton World Championships in Altenberg. 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.
The race schedule is as follows, with all times listed in local time:
Friday, Feb. 21 2 p.m.: Women’s bobsled heat #1
3:30 p.m.: Women’s bobsled heat #2
Saturday, Feb. 22
11:30 a.m.: Men’s two-man bobsled heat #1
1 p.m.: Men’s two-man bobsled heat #2
3:30 p.m.: Women’s bobsled heat #3
5 p.m.: Women’s bobsled heat #4
Sunday, Feb. 23
2:30 p.m.: Men’s two-man bobsled heat #3
4 p.m.: Men’s two-man bobsled heat #4
Thursday, Feb. 27
10 a.m.: Men’s skeleton heat #1
12 p.m.: Men’s skeleton heat #2
Friday, Feb. 28
9:30 a.m.: Women’s skeleton heat #1
11 a.m.: Women’s skeleton heat #2
1 p.m.: Men’s skeleton heat #3
3 pm.: Men’s skeleton heat #4
Saturday, Feb. 29
9:30 a.m.: Women’s skeleton heat #3
11 a.m.: Women’s skeleton heat #4
1:30 p.m.: Four-man bobsled heat #1
3 p.m.: Four-man bobsled heat #2
Sunday, March 1
10 a.m.: Mixed skeleton team event
1 p.m.: Four-man bobsled heat #3
2:30 p.m.: Four-man bobsled heat #4
Please contact USABS Marketing & Communications Director Amanda Bird at 518-354-2250, or amanda.bird@usabs.com, with media inquiries.
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, Omaze, Kampgrounds of America, Snap Fitness, Boomerang Carnets, Machintek, deBotech and Carpenter. For more information, please visit the USABS website at www.usabs.com.