Olympic champion Kaillie Humphries closed the IBSF World Cup season with a long-awaited return to the top step of the podium, winning the women’s monobob race Saturday in Altenberg, Germany, her first World Cup victory in the discipline in nearly three years.
Humphries, the 2022 Olympic gold medalist in monobob, delivered the fastest runs of the day on the demanding Altenberg track, holding off Australia’s Bree Walker by 0.13 seconds over two heats. It was a statement performance in the final World Cup race before the sport’s second Olympic appearance at the Milan Cortina Games next winter.
Walker’s runner-up finish continued one of the most consistent seasons in the field. The Australian reached the podium for the fifth time in seven World Cup races this winter, including three victories, as she again proved a factor from start to finish.
Germany’s Laura Nolte rounded out the podium, finishing 0.19 seconds back of Humphries. The two-time reigning world champion added another steady result to her résumé, a performance that ultimately secured her first career overall World Cup title in the discipline.
Just off the podium, defending World Cup overall champion Lisa Buckwitz placed 4th in front of the home crowd. Austria’s Katrin Beierl finished 5th, while Canada’s Melissa Lotholz took 6th, continuing a remarkably consistent Olympic-season campaign in which she finished inside the top six in six of seven monobob races.
Behind Humphries, the United States placed multiple athletes inside the top 10 in Altenberg. Elana Meyers Taylor finished 9th overall, with a pair of solid runs that kept her in the mix throughout the race.
Fellow American Kaysha Love ended the day 17th after posting one of the fastest start times of the field in the opening heat, a reminder of her explosive push speed despite sliding back over the second run.
With Nolte’s third-place finish in the final, the German secured the overall monobob World Cup title for the first time with 1,446 points. Walker finished second overall for the third straight season, while Buckwitz defended third in the standings. Humphries ended the campaign fourth overall, finishing just over 30 points shy of the podium in the season rankings.
With the close of the IBSF World Cup season, eyes now turn to the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games, beginning Feb. 6, airing on NBC and streaming on Peacock.
Women's monobob results
- Kaillie Armbruster Humphries (USA) — 1:58.97
- Bree Walker (AUS) — 1:59.10
- Laura Nolte (GER) — 1:59.16
- Lisa Buckwitz (GER) — 1:59.48
- Katrin Beierl (AUT) — 1:59.58
- Melissa Lotholz (CAN) — 1:59.63
- Margot Boch (FRA) — 1:59.80
- Cynthia Appiah (CAN) — 1:59.83
- Elana Meyers Taylor (USA) — 2:00.06
- Bianca Ribi (CAN) — 2:00.44
- Qing Ying (CHN) — 2:00.55
- Debora Annen (SUI) — 2:00.60
- Inola Blatty (SUI) — 2:00.72
- Kim Kalicki (GER) — 2:00.79
- Georgeta Popescu (ROU) — 2:00.82
- Kelly Van Petegem (BEL) — 2:00.90
- Kaysha Love (USA) — 2:00.96
- Simidele Adeagbo (NGR) — 2:01.26
- Viktoria Cernanska (SVK) — 2:01.70
- Sarah Blizzard (AUS) — 2:02.36