Bobsleigh Canada declined to comment on the accusations made by Humphries, or make Hays available for an interview. Others in the Canadian program have defended their team and its staff, however. The bobsledder Justin Kripps, a Canadian gold medalist, issued a statement in 2019 on behalf of the returning competitors that defended the program’s culture. Other team members, including multiple women, said his comments reflected their views and experiences.
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Eager to move on and continue her career, she asked to be released from the program and applied for U.S. citizenship, which would allow her to compete for the United States. There were lawsuits and countersuits, and little support from fellow Canadian bobsledders, all of which took a continued toll, Humphries said.
In December, though, Humphries learned that her yearslong effort to switch citizenship had been approved just in time for her to compete for the United States in Beijing.
“I knew that what I was doing was right,” Humphries said. “The transition that I had made in the sporting world, why I stood up for myself, why I left an abusive environment was the right decision. I had to remind myself that regardless of what the outcome was going to be. It was part of the journey.”
Success, Then a Stop
To Simundson, Humphries has always stood up, and out. Shortly after watching the 1988 Winter Olympics in her hometown, Calgary, a two-year-old Humphries hoisted herself onto the dining room table and declared she would one day be an Olympic gold medalist. “That’s great,” Simundson recalled thinking. “Now sit down and let’s finish your dinner.”
For a while, competitive ski racing was the outlet for her ambition. Humphries broke one leg, then the other.