Bobsleigh-US lead halfway in debut "Porsche on ice" monobob

YANQING, China : Kaillie Humphries of the United States led at the halfway mark of the Olympic's first ever monobob event in Yanqing, with the two-time gold medallist opening up a yawning 1.04 second gap between her and Canada's Christine de Bruin in second.

Monobob is one of seven new events at the Beijing Games and the only one exclusively for women, with drivers pushing a 130-kg (286 lb) sled as fast as they can before jumping in and barrelling down an icetrack at speeds up to 120 kph (75 mph).

"Monobob is probably the most difficult sliding event," said Jamaica's Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian, speaking after her first two runs on Sunday.

"The sled weighs almost as much as a two-person sled, but you have one person that has to push it, has to navigate driving down."

"By not having that weight and mass it feels like it's a Porsche that's sliding on ice, hydroplaning, and you have to have a lot of finesse - you can't do too much, you can't do too little, it doesn't respond the same, and everyone in this field is learning this sport at the same time."

It would be Humphries' first gold for the United States - her previous two were with her birth country Canada, but she switched teams and citizenship after filing a harassment complaint https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bobsleigh-can-humphries-idUSKCN1VY1V1 against Bobsleigh Canada in 2018.

As the reigning World Cup champion in both the monobob and two-woman bobsleigh events, she was favourite going into the race.

"I know what it means to represent the United States," she told reporters. "I'm so proud and honoured to be able to be here because nothing in life is guaranteed."

Germany's Laura Nolte was 1.22 seconds behind the leader in third, still in with a chance of making it seven