Kaillie Humphries

Canadian-American bobsled pilot and the only woman ever to win Olympic gold for two different countries, whose four career golds make her the most successful female bobsledder in Olympic history.

Kaillie Humphries, born Kaillie Simundson on 4 September 1985 in Calgary, Alberta, initially competed in alpine ski racing until breaking both legs in separate crashes at 16, after which she switched to bobsled as a brakewoman in 2002. She was an alternate for Canada's 2006 Turin Olympic team - having briefly considered representing the United Kingdom, her then-fiancé's home country - before signing up for bobsled driving school and transitioning to piloting. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Humphries and brakewoman Heather Moyse won gold in the two-woman event, breaking start and track records at the Whistler Sliding Centre and becoming the first Canadian women to win Olympic bobsleigh gold. They defended the title at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, overcoming a 0.11-second deficit in the final run to win by just a tenth of a second, making Humphries the first female bobsledder in history to successfully defend an Olympic championship; she and Moyse were named Canada's flagbearers for the closing ceremony. She added bronze with new brakewoman Phylicia George at Pyeongchang 2018, and throughout her career campaigned prominently for the introduction of women's four-person bobsled, competing in mixed-gender crews against men to raise the discipline's profile. In 2019, after alleging harassment by a Canadian coach, Humphries was released from the Canadian program and began competing for the United States, gaining citizenship in December 2021. At the Beijing 2022 Olympics, competing for Team USA, she won gold in the inaugural women's monobob event by a record margin of 1.54 seconds, becoming the first woman in history - and only the third athlete overall - to win Olympic gold for two different countries. She added two bronze medals, in monobob and two-woman, at a fifth Olympics at Milan-Cortina 2026, extending her career total to five Olympic medals and cementing her status as the most decorated woman in bobsled history with five world titles.

Technically precise pilot renowned for exceptional starts and controlled driving through demanding tracks under maximum pressure

Regarded as one of the greatest bobsled pilots in history and a pioneering advocate for expanding women's opportunities in the sport, whose nationality switch produced one of the Winter Olympics' most unusual storylines

• 4x Olympic Gold Medalist - only woman to win Olympic gold for 2 different countries
• First female bobsledder to defend an Olympic title (2010, 2014)
• 5x World Champion
• First woman to pilot a four-person bobsled against men in World Cup competition