Published:December 7, 2021
-Faith Wire
Olympic bobsledding champion Kaillie Humphries is elated over one of her latest titles: American citizen.
Humphries, a native of Canada who is a two-time Olympic gold medalist for that country, is slated to compete on the U.S. Olympic team after officially becoming a citizen in San Diego last Thursday — a development she has been exuberant to discuss.
“I wanted to become an American. This is more than just sport. It’s a way of life. It’s who I am becoming,” she told USA Today. “And I think there was much more to it than just one opportunity at the end of the rainbow.”
Three-time Canadian Olympic medallist Kaillie Humphries is sworn in as American, and can officially compete for the U.S. at the Olympicshttps://t.co/xaImdPOJ5F
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) December 3, 2021
Humphries is married to American former bobsledder Travis Armbruster and has lived in the U.S. since 2016. She said her newfound citizenship is important to her and expressed an “overwhelming feeling of joy.”
The Olympian also described the emotion she has when singing the National Anthem and observing the flag.
“There’s so much more emotion and feeling and passion that goes into it,” she said. “I get to represent a country … it’s now a part of who I am.”
Humphries added, “I am an American citizen.”
Listen to her discuss her citizenship:
Humphries has already scored wins as a U.S. citizen over the weekend at the World Cup in Germany, and, if history is any judge: she has more victories to come.
The Olympian asked for a release from the Canadian team in 2019, complaining over alleged verbal and emotional abuse. She was eventually released, but needed to gain American citizenship in order to compete on the U.S. team during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Now, it appears all will be well to do so. Congrats to Humphries on her recent wins — and her U.S. citizenship.
