Oksana Dzadan / Associated Press
Kaillie Humphries and Kaysha Love of USA celebrate after their second run of the two-woman Bobsleigh World Cup race in Sigulda, Latvia, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023. Love is moving from push athlete to driver for the U.S. and will make her World Cup debut as a pilot next month with hopes of moving closer to a spot in the 2026 Olympics.
Published Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023 | 10:31 a.m.
Updated Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023 | 11:25 a.m.
LA PLAGNE, France — U.S. Olympic bobsledder Kaysha Love won her World Cup driving debut on Saturday, rallying in the second heat to prevail in a women's monobob event.
Love was fifth after the first heat, then had the fastest time in the second heat. She finished two runs in 2 minutes, 7.92 seconds, or 0.21 seconds better than runner-up Melanie Hasler of Switzerland.
A Utah native and former track standout at UNLV, Love is in her first full season as a World Cup pilot after making the 2022 Olympics as a push athlete with driver Kaillie Humphries. They won three World Cup races together with Love in the push role.
Love drove in six races last season on the North American Cup tour, a mostly developmental circuit — and was last or next-to-last among the finishers of every race. But she had three wins in four NAC races at her home track in Lake Placid, N.Y., last month, building momentum for the World Cup season.
