At the bobsleigh and skeleton world championships, some moms might reach the podium

Tim Reynolds · The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 06, 2025 1:48 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

The latest summation to the database of amenities disposable to athletes astatine the bobsleigh and skeleton satellite championships is simply a country wrong a lodge conscionable down the elevation from the decorativeness line. There are immoderate stuffed animals, tons of toys, Mickey Mouse colouring books and large boxes of crayons.

This is the household space. These days, it's a needed portion of the sliding circuit.

There are five mothers expected to vie successful the satellite championships that got officially underway Thursday successful Lake Placid — U.S. skeleton jock Kelly Curtis, Swiss bobsledder Nadja Pasternack, and U.S. bobsledders Elana Meyers Taylor, Kaillie Humphries and Jasmine Jones. It's believed to beryllium the highest fig of mothers racing astatine a satellite championships.

"They haven't forgotten astir us," Curtis said.

All 4 women missed clip from competing during their pregnancies — for Meyers Taylor, it's been 2 absences, since she's a ma of 2 now. But the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, the governing assemblage for those 2 sports, decided successful caller years to support women who wanted to adhd to their families by ensuring that they didn't suffer their satellite rankings portion taking the clip off.

That means they were capable to leap close backmost into World Cup racing erstwhile they were acceptable to bash truthful — and not having to commencement from the bottommost of the rankings means the way to suffice for the adjacent Olympics successful February 2026 became a spot easier for each of them.

"I wanted to beryllium capable to beryllium to myself that I could travel back," said Humphries, the lone three-time Olympic golden medallist successful women's bobsleigh history. "I didn't privation to provender into what I heard for the bulk of my career, that having a babe ends your career. I didn't privation that to beryllium the case. And so, a large portion for maine was proving I could travel backmost and bash it, careless of the results, careless of however it each plays out."

Watch unrecorded sum of the bobsleigh and skeleton satellite championships connected CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. A unrecorded streaming docket is disposable here.

The kids look to person their ain followings astatine the way astatine this point. Bobsleigh and skeleton sliders are comparatively close-knit, with radical seeing the aforesaid radical astatine tracks astir the satellite each winter. Meyers Taylor, Humphries and Curtis person each said since becoming mothers that they trust connected their friends and teammates for assistance erstwhile needed, and for the astir portion they question with their partners oregon families for support.

In a societal media station earlier this year, Meyers Taylor discussed however her sons were some calved deaf and however 1 besides has Down Syndrome — and however the determination to person them with her connected the World Cup circuit was not an casual 1 to make.

"My fears were rapidly laid to remainder arsenic I rapidly realized not lone would they person the accidental to spot the world, they would person an immense magnitude emotion poured into them connected a regular ground by my [U.S.] teammates and the many, galore friends I've made passim my years with bobsled," wrote Meyers Taylor, who has a grounds 5 women's Olympic bobsleigh medals.

Pasternack — who gave commencement successful December 2023, aft going into labour portion cheering Swiss teammates connected astatine a contention successful La Plagne, France — returned to sliding conscionable 12 weeks ago, and made her mode into the satellite championships with comparative ease.

"Back similar she ne'er left," German bobsledder Laura Nolte said.

Meyers Taylor and Humphries were tied for sixth successful the World Cup standings this play successful two-woman bobsleigh. Meyers Taylor was eighth successful the satellite monobob standings this play with a brace of wins and conceivably could person been arsenic precocious arsenic 5th if the Americans hadn't skipped the past contention of the play to hole for worlds. Curtis — who is simply a subordinate of the U.S. Air Force, stationed successful Italy, and idiosyncratic who gave commencement a small implicit a twelvemonth agone — struggled for overmuch of the play earlier hitting her champion stride astatine the end; back-to-back seventh-place showings got her into the satellite championships. And Jones, the parent of a 4-year-old daughter, volition beryllium a propulsion jock for Kaysha Love's sled successful the two-woman lawsuit adjacent week.

"It's decidedly hard and I person to punctual myself of everything I'm doing and the crushed wherefore I'm doing it," Jones said. "I'm gladsome I'm mounting an illustration for different moms-to-be that they tin travel backmost and compete. It tin beryllium hard. It tin beryllium stressful. But if they tin spot different moms tin bash it, they cognize they tin arsenic well."

It's not caller for moms to beryllium competing arsenic sliders. Curtis remembers the country astatine the 2014 Olympics erstwhile U.S. skeleton jock Noelle Pikus-Pace — past a parent of 2 — won a metallic medal successful Sochi and ran into the stands to observe with her family. That was the infinitesimal erstwhile Curtis decided to effort sliding.

"The postpartum period, hormones, everything, the recalibration calibration has benignant of taken maine by a small spot much of a surprise," Curtis said. "Physically, I'm backmost pushing to wherever I utilized to be, and I deliberation the mind-body transportation for the existent sliding, relaxation, portion is taking longer to travel backmost than I thought."

No substance what happens implicit the adjacent 2 weeks, whether medals are won oregon lost, the kids won't attraction much. Humphries — 1 of the astir driven athletes successful the athletics — says the situation conscionable of getting large (she and her hubby spent a luck connected fertility treatments earlier yet having success) and present being a parent has brought newfound perspective.

It's a situation for dads, too. U.S. bobsledder Frank Del Duca doesn't person his kid with him erstwhile helium travels the satellite and makes nary concealed of however hard that is. But helium marvels astatine what Curtis, Humphries, Meyers Taylor and Pasternack tin do.

"To person their assemblage spell done that translation hormonally and to beryllium capable to supply for different quality being, past to crook astir and commencement lifting weights, sprinting, traveling, competing and winning connected the satellite signifier is 1 of the astir awesome things I've witnessed successful sport," Del Duca said. "And they bash it with a smile."