It will be the first time that monobob, which will make its Olympic debut at the 2022 Winter Olympics, will be featured at a world championships.

“We are really excited that we get to host the first-ever monobob world championships on home ice, and we are looking forward to a strong showing from the U.S. athletes,” said USA Bobsled Assistant Coach and 2006 Olympic medalist Shauna Rohbock.

Team USA has two of the strongest medal contenders for the inaugural monobob world championship race: Elana Meyers Taylor and Kaillie Humphries. Meyers Taylor and Humphries have won a combined six Olympic and 12 world championship medals over their illustrious careers.

“After 16 years in the sport, I wanted to continue to grow with new challenges. Monobob gave me something new to strive for, a new motivation,” said Humphries, who has two Olympic gold medals and a silver medal in women’s bobsled. “The men have always had two opportunities to win medals, and I wanted the same opportunity to represent my country on the world’s stage. I’m excited to now have that opportunity.”

The monobob event gives women’s bobsledders a second medal opportunity.

The 2021 Lake Placid World Championships are slated to put on eight races; the most events of any IBSF world championships before. The slate includes women’s, men’s and mixed skeleton, mixed skeleton, women’s bobsled and monobob, mens two- and four-man bobsled, and para bobsled.

“The announcement that monobob will be at world championships is fantastic news,” said three-time Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor, who won her first career world championship medal as a push athlete in the 2009 Lake Placid event. “This is something the female bobsledders have pushed for for quite some time, so to see it happen is great. It’s an opportunity to race monobob at a major event prior to the Olympics, and will help us all be better prepared for its Olympic debut.”