Humphries and Hoffman win women’s bobsled World Cup in Koenigssee

KOENIGSSEE, Germany (Jan. 25, 2020)– Kaillie Humphries (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Sylvia Hoffman (Arlington, Texas) were victorious in this morning’s women’s bobsled World Cup in Koenigssee. It’s Humphries’ third win of the season, and her first win in Europe since January 2018 when she competed for Canada. Today’s victory was Hoffman’s first career World Cup gold medal. She’s earned two bronze medals before today– one with Elana Meyers Taylor in January 2019 in Igls, Austria and one with Humphries last weekend in Igls.

“It always feels great to win, and it was a team effort,” Humphries said. “Winning is about more than one aspect. It’s about the drive, the equipment, and the start, and how a team works together also plays a big role in how you feel and the energy level. The fact that I’m able to win with multiple brakeman shows how strong this team is.”

Humphries opened the season with double gold medals in Lake Placid, N.Y. with Lauren Gibbs. This was only her second race with Hoffman. Humphries continues to pull away from the field in overall standings, and she is currently leading by 48 points.

Humphries and Hoffman powered the Omaze branded sled off the block with the third best push time of 5.26 seconds, and Humphries maintained that speed to the finish with a time of 50.95 seconds for third position.

The Americans were one-tenth of a second behind a tie for first, and two-hundredths of a second ahead of a tie for fourth. Germany’s Laura Nolte and Erline Nolte were tied with Canadians Christine de Bruin and Kristen Bujnowski for first with a downtime of 50.85 seconds. Germans Stephanie Schneider and Ann-Christin Strack were tied for fourth with Katrin Beierl and Jennifer Jantina Oluumi Desire Onasanya from Austria.

“Man, that first run was so close,” Humphries said. “When I get nervous, it’s so important to focus on what I can control and not on times when it’s that close.”

The close race didn’t faze Humphries and Hoffman, who stepped up to the challenge with the second best push time of 5.21 seconds. Humphries threaded together a solid run of 50.62 seconds to take over the lead. The Americans finished 0.03 seconds ahead of the field to claim gold in 1:41.57.

“Sylvia (Hoffman) and I cleaned up our hit on the second run, and we’re continuing to grow and learn as a team,” Humphries said. “The men’s and women’s teams each bring something different, and we’ve been able to rely one each other. It’s been really great.”

Humphries embraced her husband, Travis Armbruster, at the finish. Armbruster joined up with Humphries last weekend and stayed through this weekend’s races.

“Having Travis here this week was amazing, and to win with him here was really fantastic,” Humphries said.

Nolte and Nolte couldn’t maintain their lead over three-time Olympic medalist Humphroes and “Next Olympic Hopeful” participant Hoffman. The Germans finished second with a combined time of 1:41.60. Schneider and Strack rallied for third with an aggregate time of 1:41.66.

“This was a big team effort,” said USA Bobsled Head Coach Mike Kohn. “Sylvia (Hoffman) got some more reps this week on the push track, and she really stepped up today. Brian (Shimer) has spent a lot of time working with the athletes, and it shows. It’s been really great all around, and I can’t wait to see what our men bring today.”

The men’s two-man bobsled competition is up next at 3:30 p.m. local time. NBC Sports and Olympic Channel will have broadcast and digital streaming coverage. Fans can catch all the action in spectacular high definition via NBC Sports online at NBCSports.com/Live, or through the NBC Sports app. 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 Sylvia Hoffman (USA) 1:41.57 (50.95, 50.62);
2. Laura Nolte and Erline Nolte (GER) 1:41.60 (50.85, 50.75);
3. Stephanie Schneider and Ann-Christin Strack (GER) 1:41.66 (50.87, 50.69);

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, BiPro, Boomerang Carnets, Hudl, Tesa Tape, PVS International, Ferris Mfg. Corp, Machintek, deBotech and Carpenter. For more information, please visit the USABS website atwww.usabs.com.

Source: Team USA