BEIJING, China — U.S. bobsled slider Kaillie Humphries, who's sitting in first place in the women's monobob after the first two runs, is passionate about tattoos.
Humphries is a two-time Olympic champion who switched from the Canadian team to the United States in 2019 because of abuse and harassment she says she faced on the former team.
Since joining Team USA, she has won three world titles: two in two-woman bobsled (2020 and 2021) and women's monobob in 2021.
After the first two runs of the inaugural women's monobob competition at the Winter Olympics, she's in first place with a huge lead over the rest of the field. She has a combined time of 2:09.10, which is 1.04 seconds ahead of Canadian Christine De Bruin.
The monobob event continues with runs 3 and 4 starting at 6:30 p.m. MST Sunday.
Astute viewers might have noticed a flower tattoo with the word "Believe" on Humphries' hand as she raced her first two runs. That's only one of her many tattoos.
"I've always been fascinated with tattoos," she wrote on Instagram. "I love the artwork, the intensity and the power they bring."
She wrote that each of her tattoos represents who she is, "what I believe in, my family, success and hardship. They have helped me celebrate victories and overcome sadness."
"My tattoos tell my story, and I will continue to get them with each new journey throughout life," she wrote.
Humphries said that if she wins a medal at the 2022 Olympics, she might get a dragon tattoo. The serpentine bobsled track in Beijing is known locally as "The Flying Snow Dragon."
"I will also be getting an American-theme tattoo regardless of what happens during racing," she wrote.
NBC Sports contributed to this article.
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