Kaillie Humphries and Lolo Jones paired to win a historic two-woman bobsled world championship on February 6th. For Humphries, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, it was her fourth world championship. For Jones, it was the biggest win in her second-career after she picked up the sport a decade ago. They spoke with Just Women’s Sports about their historic win and what comes next as they prepare for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. 

IT'S OFFICIAL: Kaillie Humphries and Lolo Jones are world champions! ????@BobsledKaillie is the first four-time world champion in two-woman bobsled and @lolojones wins her first world bobsled title. pic.twitter.com/2eTdV1r8wk

— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) February 6, 2021

First off, congratulations to you both. I read somewhere that Kaillie, you messaged Lolo on Instagram to get her to come back to bobsledding a few years back. Can you both give your side of that story? 

Kaillie: I met Lolo through bobsled years ago going into the Olympic year. I was with Canada, she was with the USA going into 2014. So we had known of each other, had conversations, had chatted, just being in the sports world. And then fast forward to me joining team USA last season. Going into this summer, I had messaged Lolo just to see where she was at. I knew she was training for Tokyo, but with Tokyo being postponed a year, I just wanted to see if she was coming back to bobsleigh. And if that was at all an interest for her.

I had raced with one of her former teammates in Canada. So I’ve had a feeling that pairing my steering with her speed could be a really good combination. I always admired Lolo for her athleticism and just being a really strong, motivational, powerful athlete. And so I messaged her and we started talking about her coming back, what that would look like. And so I’m very grateful that she trusted me and the coaching staff and the team and took that risk and felt safe to come back.

 

Lolo, what was that like from your perspective, getting that message and having those early conversations?

Lolo: It was basically what Kaillie said. We met as competitors. Actually, my job was to make sure that we put the biggest gap on her when she competed for Team Canada, that’s just how good of a driver she is. We were always like, “You have to put the gap on her because she’s such a good driver. Just put as much as you can on her.” My job was to make her have really bad days.

So when she messaged me after crossing over to the USA, honestly, I can only describe it as like Usain Bolt sliding into your DMs and asking you to be on a 4×100 relay race. And that’s essentially what it was like, I almost dropped my phone. I was like, “Is this really happening?” She’s one of the best drivers, not only for Team USA, but in the history of bobsled. So any brakeman would be honored to get in her sled.

But it was by no means easy, we’re making it sound like it was easy, but she recruited me. But that doesn’t mean I was guaranteed to be in a sled. There were levels to this where I had to either prove myself or beat someone or have a good result to actually end up in her sled. But that’s the long short story.

 

And what do you think allowed you to find such quick chemistry?

Kaillie: Personality wise, how we approach our sport is very similar. I think just mentally, the fierceness, the intensity that we bring, the determination — we are very detailed personalities and are always pushing for perfection. And so I think right from the get go, there were certain aspects of Lolo I could see and understand, and it just felt comfortable being around her.

Like she said, there were definitely some obstacles and some hurdles, and we both had to work individually at the beginning of the season. But then once we were able to come together and reach a certain point, I think a lot of it was a feeling of comfort and understanding for one another, a willingness to push for each other, and then just having trust and faith in the other person. You wanted to compete for them. I didn’t want to just win. I wanted to win alongside Lolo.

 

Kaillie — you’re now the only woman to win four world championships. Now that you’ve had some time to process that, what does it mean to you? 

Kaillie: A little bit of relief comes with that from the standpoint of, “I always believed in myself and that I could be one of the best in the sport.” I’ve worked extremely hard to put myself in this scenario. This is my life and everything that I do. So to be amongst some of the best is just a really cool feeling. And it does feel like there’s a payday at the end. It’s not monetary, it’s not something tangible, but just the feeling that it worked.

The plan was there for all those years, all those hard days, all those times away from family, from friends. It definitely is a big relief, but also it’s a super cool feeling. It does provide a lot of confidence to know I can jump in a sled and I am one of the best, I can trust my abilities a little bit more. I think I have more confidence in myself for sure after having won this. I have more confidence in my ability as a driver, as a female, in who I am and what I stand for and what I represent. I feel a lot stronger in my feelings and my faith with that.

 

And Lolo, I know you have a unique story as well. You’re now a world champion in two different sports, and have won those titles across three different decades. 

Lolo: I’m old, thank you. [Laughs]

 

You started competing in bobsledding almost a decade ago. What has kept you motivated throughout these years?

Lolo: I think as an athlete, we kind of get this stigma that we’re washed up, we’re not of value as we get older. So I embrace that. I mean, Kaillie is 35. So it’s kind of cool to achieve these goals at a later stage.

I’m thrilled that I was able to win this championship with Kaillie and over three decades, it just shows the longevity of my career. But what it probably doesn’t show is all the time in between the losses, the nights where I wondered if I should give up. One of my favorite quotes is, “Never tease an old dog because they might just have one bite left in them.”

That’s for anybody going for a dream who feels like they’re washed up or that they don’t have what it takes anymore. I just tell them to keep pushing. Cause that’s what me and Kaillie are doing. And we’re quite successful at it.

“Old.”
“Washed up.”
“You should retire.”
“Can’t medal.”

11 years since my last World champs medal. 11 years of hate.

Ignore them all. Keep grinding. pic.twitter.com/9cSXgiSKuo

— Lolo Jones (@lolojones) February 6, 2021

You were training for one last Summer Olympics bid, after which you were on an MTV reality show before jumping into Bobsled camp. How were you able to make that transition so quickly and successfully? 

Lolo: Was definitely not quickly. It definitely put Kaillie at a hindrance, for sure. Because of the quick turnover, I’m not at the weight I need to be for bob, so we actually had to put quite a bit of weight in the bob this year. So that means I had to have help pushing it. Now back in Boston, I’ll be able to put on the weight gain so that we don’t have to do that.

 

Kaillie, I understand that you’re still waiting for a citizenship decision which will determine whether you can compete for the US at the Olympics next year. Can you give us an update as to what that timeline looks like?

Kaillie: I cannot give you an update because there is none. My application is in, but unfortunately COVID shut down immigration and the government for a period of time this summer. So we’re still in the process of understanding where I’m at. That’s something that my lawyer is working on right now. So we don’t have an exact timeline. There is no exact date. There is nothing official as of now because there’s still a backlog of stuff. And they’re trying to sort through a whole mess of, like I said, immigration as a whole across the entire country. And so where I fall into that, it’s still pretty unknown at this time. At this point, we’re just waiting for a decision.

 

Assuming it all works out, this will be your first Olympics competing for the US. You’ve obviously competed in the Olympics before and won a fair share of medals. But what would it mean to compete for the US in China?

Kaillie: Well, I think, honestly, it will be a huge honor to represent such a strong nation, such a strong country. Those are huge shoes to step into, and it’s not lost on me. And I’m extremely proud to represent the USA right now, to represent it on the world stage, to know that I feel like I leveled up.

I’m proud to live and represent the United States. It is my home. It is where I live now. I married an American, so this is very much my life. I think just being proud is the biggest thing I can say overall. Now, it will be a first, for sure, but I’m not new to the Olympic world. This world is still the same. So I’m excited for the opportunities, for the chance to potentially bring home medals for the United States in this sport and to show as you know, we’re very strong, proud athletes and females within this sport. And we can do anything we set our mind to.

 

How are you both preparing for 2022 now? 

Lolo: For me, I need to focus on properly gaining weight. And then mentally, I just have to prepare myself, because I’m going to be returning to where my first Olympics was. I competed in the Summer Olympics in Beijing, which everybody kind of knows is where I hit a hurdle, and that cost me the Olympic gold medal.

So I’m going to fight like hell to earn my spot on the team, to go back there and just have redemption. I don’t want to just go and win a medal. I want to go and win a gold medal. Because of what happened, I am just going to work my tail off to make sure I’m in the position to do that.

Kaillie: And the cool part is, Lolo is not going to be alone this time. Not that she was last time, but it’s not going to be just her. We have a very, very strong women team heading to 2022. The team is one of the strongest women bob teams in the world. So we’ll be there to support Lolo. Everybody has their individual goals, myself included, but as a women’s group, as a women’s team, we are extremely strong. And so that’s very motivating for me specifically. I think I definitely want to go, win an Olympic gold medal in 2022. It’s not just showing up and making the team. I lost that in 2018. I was a champion before, but somebody else got it last time. So I want it back. That’s my goal.

 

Was there anything else that you wanted to bring up that I didn’t mention at all?

Lolo: I just hope there are women out there that are just inspired. If they can look at Kaillie and just see her dominance and see how she was able to break history and just be really spot on at the prime of her career — that’s incredible. And I hope it inspires women to just keep reaching for new levels. And then I hope that they see my story and know that through it all, through the ups and the downs, they just need to keep pressing. Because both of us have gone through a lot of hardships and I know it may seem easy, but it wasn’t. So just keep fighting.

As the world of women’s soccer approaches 2026, the last year may well be remembered for its dynasties.

Chelsea won a sixth straight WSL title, Euros champion England and Copa winner Brazil retained their continental crowns, and Gotham FC lifted a second NWSL trophy in three years.

The winds of change also began to blow in new directions, with Arsenal upsetting Barcelona to win the Champions League final, top NWSL talent departing the US for opportunities overseas, and Kansas City reminding everyone what happens when regular-season dominance meets playoff vulnerability.

Through it all the game continued to grow, with increasingly interesting results on both sides of the pond, as the ramp-up to the 2027 World Cup and a new slate of regional competitions coincide with an ever-shifting economic landscape

So instead of looking back, we’re keeping the spirit of progress alive by presenting five bold predictions for women’s soccer in 2026.

Sophia Wilson’s return: A top contender for 2026 NWSL MVP

News of USWNT Sophia Wilson’s impending return to the Portland Thorns gave NWSL fans a boost earlier this month, with the Triple Espresso forward signing a single-year extension with her original club team.

Expect Wilson to hit the ground running as she comes back from pregnancy. The 2022 NWSL MVP has been very consistent throughout her career, and she’ll be joined by other returning Thorns attackers to bolster her opportunities in front of goal.

Fellow extended Portland star Olivia Moultrie will be paramount to the 25-year-old’s MVP campaign, especially as Wilson looks to challenge two-time reigning MVP Temwa Chawinga.

Don’t bet against Wilson showing shades of Alex Morgan’s 2023 Golden Boot run. That's when the USWNT legend blew past expectations for what new mothers could achieve in their first season back on the pitch.

No repeat champs: Why the women's soccer guards are changing in 2026

Reigning WSL winner Chelsea’s repeat bid is already shaky, with Everton snapping their 34-game unbeaten streak earlier this month. And they’re preparing to enter the new year six points behind Manchester City in the league table.

Blues manager Sonia Bompastor has seemed to prefer a static roster rotation. Of course, she’s charged with managing players from two eras: ex-coach Emma Hayes’s success and the team’s modern iteration. If there was a time for a changing of the WSL guard, 2026 is the year.

Stateside, 2025 NWSL Shield winners Kansas City continue to navigate offseason changes. The Current will start 2026 under brand new leadership, after former head coach Vlatko Andonovski announced he’ll move to a Sporting Director role.

ESPN recently reported Kansas City’s plan to hire former MLS head coach Chris Armas in 2026. But without a formal announcement and the offseason clock ticking, the Current might run out of runway to set up a repeat bid.

2025 NWSL champion Gotham has both FIFA and Concacaf Champions Cup commitments this year, complicating their quest as they maneuver a jam-packed season. The club landed one major re-signing in Midge Purce, but forward Ella Stevens departed for expansion side Boston. Thus, the team is left relying on a title-winning core with an average age over 28.

Arsenal hasn’t looked too terribly far off their Champions League game yet. But the subsequent resurgence of Barcelona and OL Lyonnes could see the WSL on the outside looking in once the tournament reaches May's final.

Despite having a few worthy clubs — including strong newcomers Manchester United — the UK league’s chances of claiming another UWCL title appear overshadowed by mainland Europe’s renewed dominance.

Emma Hayes's USWNT: Expect major roster overhauls in 2026

USWNT coach Emma Hayes embraced change in 2025, giving 43 players their first national team cap this year — the most since 2001.

Though the approach came with some speed bumps. The US matching the single-year total loss record with three dropped matches.

Considering Hayes’s approach, it seems that the future of the USWNT has arrived much sooner than expected. And looking back, those losses actually made an emphatic argument for more lineup overhauls — not less.

The team’s November loss to Portugal showcased a veteran midfield trio in Rose Lavelle, Lindsey Heaps, and Sam Coffey. The lineup exposed the old guard’s weaknesses as the team looks to hold ground among the world’s elite.

Remember — Hayes made the call to leave Alex Morgan off the gold medal-winning 2024 Olympic roster. In doing so, she laid the groundwork for even bigger calls as the US gears up for a tough World Cup qualifying run in 2026.

The global talent war: NWSL salary cap faces European threats

The NWSL closes 2025 with flashy off-field headlines and waning on-field enthusiasm, as it attempts to grapple with a rash of overseas departures.

They’ve even gone so far as to institute a new “High Impact Player” rule allowing teams to exceed the salary cap for top talent. The move comes after rejecting the Washington Spirit’s blockbuster play for superstar striker Trinity Rodman.

Viewed as a half-measure to circumvent larger salary cap issues, the NWSL Players Association has come out against the newly approved mechanism.

The union is advocating for the league to raise the base salary cap across the board. This will help clubs keep up in an increasingly competitive global market without destroying parity.

Whether or not the two parties will reach a compromise remains to be seen. Meantime, it leaves NWSL fans to hope for a solution as wealthy European clubs continue to draw top free agents away from the US league.

Of course, money isn’t everything. Raising the salary cap won’t guarantee NWSL favorites remain Stateside, as another league’s pull features more than just a pay bump. Thoughugh should the NWSL figure things out in time, US clubs might bring in a few big names themselves.

Regardless, expect more players to test their abilities in new environments when the transfer window opens back up in January. And it's especially pressing considering the looming World Cup and its national team implications.

The 2026 Men’s World Cup will transform women’s soccer

International soccer’s largest event lands in the US next year, as the 2026 Men’s World Cup promises to reshape football fandom in this country and beyond.

The NWSL remains bullish on the tournament’s ability to convert soccer fans across gender lines. Though the competition itself is subsequently bound to have a serious and immediate impact on the women’s game.

The NWSL plans to pause for the duration of next summer’s World Cup. This is in part due to infrastructural strains, as the tournament takes over venues shared between men’s and women’s club teams. The USWNT’s World Cup qualifying campaign will also hit the breaks, rendering the team’s summer international windows largely meaningless.

And with Concacaf qualifiers kicking off immediately after the 2026 NWSL Championship, top players will have to balance commitments at the end of a long year.

No matter how the 2026 World Cup ends up influencing US soccer culture, it will inevitably present some challenges as the domestic women’s game pushes to be more than an afterthought alongside the sport’s biggest stage.

No. 3 South Carolina basketball suffered a blow this week, as top transfer Ta'Niya Latson exited the Gamecocks' 96-55 win over Providence with a lower leg injury on Sunday.

"She's smiling," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said of Latson immediately following the game, offering an optimistic injury update. "She got treatment all through the second half."

The star senior guard, who turned 22 years old last Friday, joined South Carolina after leading Division I in scoring with Florida State last season.

This year, Latson's 16.9 points per game trails only sophomore forward Joyce Edwards's 21.4-point average on the Gamecocks' scoresheet.

While the full extent to Latson's injury and her potential time off the court is still unknown, any absence exacerbates the team's injury woes, as South Carolina lost standout forward Chloe Kitts to a season-ending injury before the 2025/26 campaign tipped off — with the Gamecocks battling additional availability limits throughout their roster all month.

That said, with the recent returns of forward Madina Okot and guard Agot Makeer from concussion protocol, the Gamecock bench is significantly less sparse, with both returnees impacting Sunday's South Carolina victory with a double-double.

Even more, Staley's squad will see additional roster relief when 18-year-old French center Alicia Tournebize joins the team midseason.

How to watch South Carolina basketball this week

The No. 3 Gamecocks will open the new year by tipping off their SEC slate on Thursday, when South Carolina hosts unranked Alabama at 2 PM ET.

The clash with the Crimson Tide will air live on SEC+.

The world's tennis stars are preparing to open 2026 play in Australia this weekend, with top WTA and ATP leaders on Team USA gearing up to defend their United Cup title starting this Friday.

The two-time champion US enters as the No. 1 seed in the fourth edition of the hard-court tournament, bolstered by the return of world No. 3 Coco Gauff to lead Team USA's six-player United Cup contingent.

With each tournament bout consisting of one WTA singles match, one ATP singles clash, and one mixed-doubles competition, Gauff notably claimed a straight-sets victory over Polish phenom No. 2 Iga Świątek to secure the 2025 title for the US.

"I'm super excited," the 21-year-old star said prior to this year's United Cup. "I had such a good time in my first year playing with the team, and I'm looking forward to going back."

With the 2026 Australian Open beginning in less than two weeks, the United Cup pits 18 national teams against each other as players from both the women's and men's tours tune up for next year's Slams.

Fellow WTA Top-10 stars Świątek and Italy's No. 8 Jasmine Paolini will join Gauff on the 2026 United Cup court, while fan favorite No. 16 Naomi Osaka will feature for tournament debutant Japan.

Also battling for national pride will be two winners of last season's WTA awards, with 2025 Newcomer of the Year No. 18 Vicky Mboko joining Team Canada and 2025 Comeback Player of the Year No. 11 Belinda Bencic competing for Switzerland.

How to watch the 2026 United Cup

The 2026 United Cup runs January 2nd through 11th, with live coverage airing on the Tennis Channel.

The No. 3 Minnesota Frost are looking to skate up the PWHL table, as the reigning back-to-back champs hope to make up ground before the third-year league breaks for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Eight games into the 2025/26 season, the Boston Fleet top the PWHL standings with 19 points, trailed by the No. 2 Toronto Sceptres with 14, while the No. 4 Montréal Victoire sit one point behind the Frost with 11.

"Our league is good. Every game is going to be close," Minnesota head coach Ken Klee said last week. "It's just about getting better and keep accumulating points."

With the league's original six teams largely off to a hot start, there's only a few weeks left before players hang up their PWHL jerseys for February's Winter Games.

Teams outside the current playoff chase are also making a statement, as New York Sirens forward Casey O'Brien scored her first pro goals to power the sixth-place squad past the No. 5 Seattle Torrent 4-3 on Sunday — becoming the first rookie to record a hat trick in PWHL history in the process.

"We've been putting in a lot of work in practice and video, focusing on the little things," O'Brien said postgame. "Tonight felt like the payoff."

How to watch this week's PWHL action

The puck drops on the final 2025 PWHL matches on Tuesday, when the No. 3 Minnesota Frost visit the No. 2 Toronto Sceptres at 7 PM ET, airing live on Prime.

Closing out the year on Wednesday, the No. 6 New York Sirens will host the No. 7 Vancouver Goldeneyes at 1 PM ET, with live coverage airing on MSG Network.