Carlsbad resident Kaillie Humphries teamed with Kaysha Love to win the two-woman bobsled World Cup race Sunday in Germany, days after becoming a U.S. citizen.
In her second victory in two days, Humphries piloted her sled to the second-fastest time on the first run, 56.99 seconds, .02 behind the German duo of Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi.
On the next run, the Americans had a slower start time and slower times than the Germans at each of the four intervals, but completed the distance between the fourth interval and finish line .08 faster than the Germans to win the race.
The Americans had a two-run time of 1:54.10. Nolte and Levi were second in 1:54.14.
“I was able to rely on my experience over these last two days,” said Humphries, who won the Women’s Monobob World Series race Saturday. “I’ve raced here many years and I’ve worked extremely hard to be able to be at this level. What you saw was years and years of trial and error coming together, and an absolutely amazing team.”
Humphries won both races despite interrupted her training Wednesday to fly to California to become an American citizen, so she can compete for the U.S. in the Beijing Olympics, which begin Feb. 4.
Humphries won Olympic gold medals for her native Canada in the two-woman bobsled in 2010 and 2014 and a bronze in the event in 2018, along with two world championships. She switched to representing the U.S. in 2019 because of abuse and harassment she said she faced from the Canadian bobsled federation.
Humphries became eligible to compete for the U.S. as a green card holder following her marriage in 2019 to Travis Armbruster, a former U.S. men’s bobsledder. However, to be part of the U.S. Olympic team, she had to have an American passport, which are limited to citizens.
The coronavirus pandemic presented challenges for Humphries as she attempted to become a citizen, including making required in-person meeting dates.
Humphries, 36, completed the citizenship process with a meeting and swearing in ceremony Thursday in San Diego.
“I’m more emotional than I thought I would be,” Humphries said Thursday. “Even though you believe in your application and you know it meets the requirements, you don’t know.
Humphries credited her attorney, John Exner, and a dedicated group of supporters who helped guide her application process and led to the successful result. She also received support from Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, whose district includes Carlsbad.
After becoming a citizen, Humphries flew to Frankfurt, Germany Thursday, then took a connecting flight to Dresden to resume preparations for her weekend races.
– City News Service