(Reuters) – Kaillie Humphries, who won two Olympic gold medals representing Canada, will be eligible to compete for the United States at next year’s Winter Games in Beijing after being sworn in as an American citizen, USA Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation said.
Humphries, 36, was released by Bobsleigh Canada in 2019, a year after she filed a harassment complaint against the governing body alleging she had been verbally and emotionally abused by her former coach.
Due to International Olympic Committee rules, Humphries required citizenship from her adopted country to be able to represent the United States at the Games.
“I’m more emotional than I thought I would be. Even though you believe in your application and you know it meets the requirements, you don’t know,” said Humphries, a five-times world champion.
“It was a long journey, this has been a team effort and feels amazing to have the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”
Humphries won gold at the Vancouver and Sochi Olympics and picked up a bronze at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
