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Olympic women’s bobsled legend Kaillie Humphries presented her Order of 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 policies.
Her Order of Ikkos medal, awarded to someone who has made an impact on an Olympic athlete’s journey, found its way into Trump’s hands because of the president’s IVF policies and his efforts to “save women’s sports” from biological men.
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“I want to recognize the support and impact they have had on women’s sports throughout the Olympic movement, specifically advocating to keep biological women in women’s sports,” Humphries said. “In addition, their policies are creating greater access to IVF, so families like mine can continue to grow.
“I believe this makes you the first president in history to receive the Order of Ikkos.”
Trump responded by saying, “I knew I liked him.”
Humphries publicly aligned herself with Trump and Republicans during an interview with Pak Gazette Digital on February 27, shortly after winning two bronze medals in Milan Cortina, becoming the most decorated women’s bobsledder in Olympic history.
Humphries revealed that she voted for Trump, her support for protecting women’s sports, immigration enforcement as a legal immigrant from Canada, and her support of the US men’s hockey team for embracing Trump after winning gold amid a left-wing backlash.
Humphries said he has had to deal with his own left-wing backlash ever since.
“Some people disagree with my opinions and have made them known,” Humphries told Pak Gazette Digital on Thursday.
“A lot of name-calling. They call you every name and 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 has a right to their own beliefs and what they stand for.
“That’s their opinion, and I don’t have to like it or agree with it. I wish it were different, but that’s how it works.”
U.S. Olympic bronze medalist bobsled athlete Kaillie Humphries 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 that throughout his career as an athlete, he became accustomed to competing with a “target on his back.”
“I’m used to competing with a target on my back. I’m used to people not believing or wishing for bad things, hoping for something better for them,” she added.
“Being in an environment where I’m not the most welcome or I’m not the most liked, I think that could partly contribute to me becoming the most successful women’s bobsledder in Olympic history. So I’ve learned to deal with that. You’ll find your people. You always find your people.”
Bronze medalist Kaillie Armbruster Humphries of the USA kisses her son on the podium of the women’s bobsleigh monobob at Cortina Sliding Center during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo on February 16, 2026. (Marco Bertorello/AFP)
During her speech Thursday, Humphries choked up a couple of 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 results after giving birth and the satisfaction she got from challenging those notions.
“There was no guarantee in my path to becoming a mother that this was going to happen,” she said. “There were a lot of people who told me, ‘Your body will never be the same. And you will never be able to 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. Follow your dreams.
“Everyone likes to put limitations on people, specifically moms, saying 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 defied those fears alongside her Team USA 2026 bobsled partner, Jasmine Jones, an Air Force service member who is also a mom. The two teamed up to become the first mother duo to win a bobsled medal for the United States in Olympic history.
“It means a lot,” Jones told Pak Gazette Digital. “You can choose to be a father and pursue your dream and your goal. So, being that first mother duo at the Olympics and getting a medal also shows towards the future where other athletes who do come up and also want to have a family can do so and dedicate themselves to being athletes.”
