After winning a bronze medal in 2018, Humphries filed a formal complaint of mental and verbal abuse against Todd Hays, a coach for Bobsleigh Canada. She asked to be released from the program, initiating a protracted standoff.
Other countries recruited Humphries with the offer of immediate citizenship to compete in Beijing under their flag. Humphries instead waited out the lengthy process it took to become a U.S. citizen with no assurances that she would be granted a passport with enough time to compete at the Games.
“I’m becoming an American,” Humphries said before the Olympics. “Reminding myself of that made it much bigger and much more grand. At the end of the day, the Olympics is a race. It’s what I work for, but it’s not a part of who I am, and becoming an American is very much a part of who I am.”
She became one in December, allowing just enough of a window to qualify for the Winter Games.
“This has been a very hard fought battle to get here, and it definitely feels different,” she said.
Humphries and Meyers Taylor, friends and rivals, have traded wins and places among the World Cup circuit for more than a decade. Meyers Taylor has collected two silvers and a bronze in past Olympics.
“We have shared the podium since 2010 together,” Humphries said. “And we have this battle royale where I push her and she pushes me to be better. And it always worked.”
The I.O.C. announced monobob’s Olympic inclusion in 2018, but only for women. Men are still the only competitors in the four-man bobsled event.