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Olympic women’s bobsleigh legend Kaillie Humphries awarded her Ikkos medal to President Donald Trump on Thursday.
She choked up and became emotional as she spoke at a Women’s History Month event at the White House, recalling her pride in becoming a mother through IVF treatment made possible by Trump’s policies.
Her Order of Ikkos medal, which is given to someone who has made an impact on an Olympian’s journey, found its way to Trump because of the president’s IVF policies and efforts to “save women’s sports” from biological males.
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“I want to acknowledge the support and influence you’ve had on women’s sports throughout the Olympic movement, specifically standing up to keep biological women in women’s sports,” Humphries said. “Furthermore, your policies create greater access to IVF so families like mine can continue to grow.
“I believe this actually makes you the first president in history to be awarded an Order of Ikkos.”
Trump responded, saying, “I knew I liked her.”
Humphries publicly aligned herself with Trump and Republicans during an interview with Pakinomist Digital on February 27, shortly after winning two bronze medals in Milan Cortina and becoming the most decorated women’s bobsledder in Olympic history.
Humphries revealed her vote for Trump, her support for protecting women’s sports, immigration enforcement as a legal immigrant from Canada and support for the US men’s hockey team to embrace Trump after winning gold amid left-wing backlash.
Humphries said she has had to deal with her own left-wing backlash since then.
“I’ve had some people who don’t agree with my opinions and have made that very well known,” Humphries told Pakinomist Digital on Thursday.
“A lot of names. You get called every name and every word under the sun that’s humanly possible … and at the end of the day, politics can be very emotional for people, and I understand that. And everyone’s entitled to their own beliefs and what they stand for.
“It’s their opinion and I don’t have to like it or agree with it. I wish it was different, but that’s how it works.”
Kaillie Humphries, a U.S. Olympic bronze medalist bobsleigh athlete, presents the Order of Ikkos to President Donald Trump during a Women’s History Month event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)
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Humphries said throughout her journey as an athlete, she became accustomed to competing with a “target on her back.”
“I’m used to competing with a target on my back. I’m used to people not thinking or wishing badly, hoping better for them,” she added.
“Being in an environment where I’m not the most welcome or not the most well-liked, I think that could be part of becoming the most successful female bobsledder in Olympic history. So I’ve learned how to deal with that. You’ll find your people. You always find your people.”
Bronze medalist Kaillie Armbruster Humphries of the United States kisses her son on the podium of the bobsled women’s monobob at the Cortina Sliding Center during the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo on February 16, 2026. (Marco Bertorello/AFP)
During her speech Thursday, Humphries choked up a few times, especially when the topic was becoming a mother to her 1½-year-old son.
She recalled being told she wouldn’t be able to achieve elite-level competitive performance after giving birth and the satisfaction that came with defying those notions.
“There was no guarantee in my journey to becoming a mother that it would happen,” she said. “There were a lot of people who told me, ‘Your body will never be the same. And you can never get back on the Olympic podium.’ … So more than anything, I wanted to be able to show the world that you can have it all. Chase your dreams.
“Everybody likes to put limitations on people, specifically mothers, that your body is not the same, your mind will never be the same. And those limitations can be scary for a lot of women.”
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Humphries braved that fear with her 2026 Team USA bobsled teammate, Air Force service member Jasmine Jones, who is a fellow mother. The two teamed up to become the first mother duo to medal in bobsleigh for the United States in Olympic history.
“It just means so much,” Jones told Pakinomist Digital. “You are able to choose to be a parent as well as chase your dream and your goal. So to be the first mom duo to the Olympics and also get a medal just points to the future where other athletes who come up and also want to strive to have a family can do that and pursue being an athlete.”
