Kaillie Humphries breaks through gender rules; makes sport history

It’s called a four man bobsled. But Kaillie Humphries — reigning Olympic champion in the women’s two person bobsled, thought it was wrong to be a man’s only sport.

“Right from day one, I was like, this is not fair,” Humphries told Global News.

After years of lobbying the sport’s governing body, Humphries and an American will become two of the first women athletes to race with the men at a World Cup competition in Calgary this weekend.

“I want to show the world that it is possible for women to drive four and what I’ve asked isn’t outside the realm of realistic and that we can actually be successful in it,” says Humphries. She’s been competing in two-person women bobsled for the past nine years, winning gold medals at both the Sochi and Vancouver Olympics.

Her male teammates say even though the focus may be on the gender rule change, they are concentrating on the race.

“Kaillie doesn’t play into it. We try not to play into it,” says Daniel Dale, who is also at the bobsled World Cup for the first time. “We’re here to push for her and give her the best chance to medal and do well in this race.”

Fellow bobsledder DJ McClelland agrees. “We want to be competitive, and we want to do well and that’s the bottom line. Realistically, it’s not a barrier, it’s motivation,” he told Global News.

Humphries will compete with the men on Saturday at Calgary’s Canada Olympic Park and she will also race with her two-person female bobsled team.

“Really to me, I’m pretending like this is normal,” says Humphries.

“I’m pretending like it’s normal for chicks to drive four man and I get to be with the boys again.”