Kaillie Humphries: The Self-Advocate

When you’re thinking about the Games, do you think about having to encounter Team Canada?

Oh, yeah. You start to get butterflies when you’re in an elevator and have to be next to them. My team makes it okay. They’re so focused and dedicated to what they’re trying to achieve, which is high performance at the purest form. It allows me to acknowledge that awkwardness but get right back to our task at hand. I’ve got everything that I need and I want, and I can perform from there. And nobody can infiltrate that.

Obviously, professional athletes make a laundry list of sacrifices to get where they are. When you think back on your career up to this point, what are the sacrifices that really stand out to you?

The biggest one is family. My husband and I have put off having kids for multiple years. It’s really great to see Allyson Felix have a kid, come back, and win medals. But even she had to face battles. I don’t want this to be my only Olympics for Team USA. So, I am looking toward 2026, but what does it mean to have kids? Can we travel? Would I have the motivation to compete?

The amount of birthdays or holidays that I’ve missed. I hadn’t gone back to Canada for almost three years since I moved down. COVID had something to do with that for about a year, but also going through immigration for the first couple of years.

And you’ve got the financial strain. I have probably $90,000 worth of just random steel runners that are only valuable to bobsledders. I also have a bobsled, which is $100,000–$150,000. That’s a really nice car. And I still have to pay my bills. We still have to make sure that we have a place to live. So this is where the sponsors come in, because they really can make or break an athlete’s career.

Physically, as well, what we put our bodies through. I am very, very specific in what I do as an athlete. And my body’s taken a toll. I have no doubt it’s going to be busted by the time I’m 65. I risk tearing muscles. I risk pulling myself apart with the explosivity and the power that I create.

How are you feeling about competing for the U.S. in February?

Whether it’s a new school, a new job, a new city, there’s a transition period. And for me, it was no different. But I wouldn’t have changed it for the entire world. I’m so happy with where I’m at. I feel so empowered as an athlete—as a female athlete—in my position. The professionalism and respect are huge within USA Bobsled. I’m more motivated than ever to do my very best work because I want to not only give back to this country but also to a program that has empowered me the way that they have.