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Canadian-American icon honours Trump for 'standing up to keep biological women in women's sports'
Former Canadian and now U.S. bobsled Olympian Kaillie Humphries presented U.S. President Donald Trump with an Order of Ikkos medal Thursday at the White House , where she attended a celebration of Women’s History Month. She thanked the president for expanding access to in vitro fertilization and for keeping men out of women’s sports.
Born in Calgary, Humphries has participated in five winter Olympics since 2010. She won gold that year in Vancouver and again in 2014 in Sochi with Heather Moyse, and placed third with Phylicia George in Pyeongchang in 2018.
However, in 2019 she requested to be released from the Canadian team and began competing for the United States. She was granted U.S. citizenship in 2021, and won gold in the monobob for that country in Beijing in 2022, and two bronze medals at the most recent games in Italy.
Humphries took the podium at the White House, acknowledging her Olympic accolades but adding: “The title I’m most proud of is mom.” She referred to her journey to motherhood as “a two-and-a-half year process through IVF.”
She continued: “The ultimate dream I had was to become a mom and then be able to stand on the Olympic podium. And this year I got to do that with my one-and-a-half-old-son … Being able to earn these two bronze medals, they feel like gold. They really do. He is my gold medal and will always be for the rest of my entire life.”
Humphries added: “As a legal immigrant competing for the United States of America, a country that has adopted me, it’s one of the greatest honours I’ve had in my entire life.”
She then explained the Order of Ikkos medal. Created by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee in 2008 and named after a 5th century BC Greek athlete and coach, it is presented by Team USA medal-winning athletes to someone who has been instrumental in their success.
“I am so honoured to present this, my Order of Ikkos medal, to you Donald Trump,” Humphries said. Trump looked surprised and said: “I knew I liked her.”
“I want to recognize the support and the impact you’ve had on women’s sports throughout the Olympic movement, specifically standing up to keep biological women in women’s sports, to keep the field of play safe, and allow for fair competition,” Humphries told the president.
“Furthermore, because your policies are creating greater access to IVF, so families like mine can continue to grow as I look to … expand my family again, I believe this actually makes you the first president in history to ever be awarded an Order of Ikkos.”
In February 2025 Trump signed the executive order “Expanding Access to In Vitro Fertilization,” which promised to create recommendations “on protecting IVF access and aggressively reducing out-of-pocket and health plan costs for IVF treatment.”
Trump that month also signed the executive order “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which noted in part: “Many sport-specific governing bodies have no official position or requirements regarding trans-identifying athletes. Others allow men to compete in women’s categories if these men reduce the testosterone in their bodies below certain levels or provide documentation of ‘sincerely held’ gender identity.”
As a double-medal winner at the 2026 games, Humphries can give out two Order of Ikkos medals. The Team USA website lists the other as having been given to her husband, Travis Armbruster.
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