If U.S. Olympic bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor had to sum up traveling the world with two young children in one word, the five-time Olympic medalist would describe it as ‘chaotic.’
Flying overseas is enough to make anyone’s head spin, but adding sports equipment and baby gear to the mix presents another set of challenges. These are the logistics Taylor, fellow U.S. bobsledder Kaillie Humphries and other mothers competing at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics consider when packing for the Games.
‘I packed a bunch of boxes of diapers in with my bobsled,’ Humphries told USA TODAY Sports in December. ‘It’s just like bags and bags and a crib and more bags. Literally just stuff everywhere of what I need and what (my son Aulden) needs. I could show you my (hotel) room right now, but it very much looks like a bomb exploded.’
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Packing for three a ‘learning curve’
Humphries has got packing down to a science over the years after competing in five Olympic Games. The three-time Olympic gold medalist has been ‘doing it for so long that it’s easy,’ but Humphries’ preparations look a little different this time around. The Milano Cortina Games will mark her first as a mother after welcoming Aulden in June 2024.
The most daunting part of traveling with a little one is ‘trying to balance all the stuff you have to bring,’ she admitted. This year added an extra challenge because it requires Humphries, Aulden and her husband Travis Armbruster, who she affectionately calls a ‘stay-on-tour dad,’ to live out of a suitcase from Oct. 15 through February 26th as the family of three travels across Europe for the World Cup circuit and Olympics.
Passport? Check. Bobsled and helmet? Check. Enough diapers to last for five months? Fingers crossed.
‘Aulden likes a certain diaper that doesn’t react to his skin and you can’t get them in Europe. So I had to try and pack and think of, OK, how many diapers is five months worth? How do I bring it?’ Humphries said. ‘As a mom, you’re always thinking of what’s coming, which bobsled has served me well for… I’ve definitely learned how to compartmentalize a lot better, how to organize my schedule a lot better and what’s really important.’
Anticipating the needs of her 19-month-old son requires the same level of dedication that helped her climb the standings in bobsled. She said she packed clothes that normally fit 3-year-olds, along with two different-sized shoes that are just now starting to fit her son, because she ‘knew he was going to outgrow stuff’ on the road. But no matter how prepared you feel, Humphries said the ‘what-ifs’ still creep into the back of her mind.
‘If (he) gets diaper rash, how do you handle that, especially when you’re in a foreign country?’ Humphries, 40, asked aloud. ‘What would happen if he gets sick? What happens in regards to a hospital?’
Her concerns have eased with the assistance and support of the USOPC’s Elite Athlete Health Insurance Program (EAHI). Humphries added Aulden to her insurance plan, which carries international coverage for them both. Humphries’ monthly enrollment is covered in full by the USOPC, while she pays out of pocket for Aulden. It’s a small price for peace of mind.
‘It’s been a process and a learning curve, but I’m pretty lucky he travels well. I’m just grateful that I get to have this experience with him, especially within our sport,’ added Humphries, who said Aulden has traveled to 10 countries alone in the first 15 months of his life. ‘I could not do this if they weren’t able to come with me.’
Traveling with kids is ‘absolute chaos’
Ensuring everything is packed is only half the battle. Next comes the actual traveling, which features hours-long flights after you’ve made it through TSA.
Like Humphries, Meyers Taylor’s two sons, Nico, 5, and Noah, 3, are with her full-time on the World Cup circuit and will attend the Olympics. Her husband Nic Taylor, a former U.S. bobsledder that now works as a chiropractor and a strength and conditioning coach for the Sacramento Kings, ‘pops in and out’ as his work schedule permits.
That means Meyers Taylor is sometimes on her own ‘figuring it out day in and day out.’ She often travels with a nanny for an extra hand, but as her sons’ mobility and curiosity grow with age, the balancing act has become even more demanding. Especially with her youngest son Noah, ‘the most athletic person in my family’ she joked.
‘I thought it would get much easier as they got older and it has not,’ Meyers Taylor, 41, said at the USOPC media summit in October. ‘Bigger children, bigger problems. Now that they’re both walking, they’re both up. They don’t want to sit on planes, they don’t want to stay still. They don’t want to sit for meals or anything like that. So it is absolute chaos.’
Meyers Taylor said her children’s disabilities — both of her sons are deaf and Nico has Down syndrome — have created some ‘unique challenges’ on the road. Nico experiences sensory overload at times and becomes overwhelmed, she said. The boys don’t particularly sleep well on planes and then there’s keeping up with their specialized treatments and medical equipment while on tour.
‘(I’m) hoping we don’t lose a cochlear implant on a plane,’ Meyers Taylor said. ‘One time we lost it in St. Moritz. I thought it was in a toilet. There’s all kinds of things going on… but at the end of the day, I haven’t met a single person that isn’t willing to help a mother struggling with two kids.’
Bobsled moms lean on village of teammates
Humphries and Meyers Taylor finished first and second respectively in the inaugural women’s monobob event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Although the race features a single athlete racing down a fast, icy track, there’s a whole team of coaches and trainers behind them. It takes a similar village to care for children on tour.
‘The whole team is helping raise (Aulden),’ Humphries told USA TODAY Sports. ‘They’re always willing to help. And we have quite a few parents on our team within bobsled and skeleton, which is great. Some kids travel on tours, some don’t … If I’m like, I need to go get food, (my teammates will say), ‘I’ll watch him. Don’t worry.”
Asking for help doesn’t come easy to Meyers Taylor, who admitted she’s a ‘stubborn person’ by nature. But she’s been surprised by the ‘kindness in strangers’ as she’s juggled motherhood on the road.
‘There’ve been so many people that’ll help us on and off planes, help us get our bags off planes. Flight attendants helping my kids,’ she said. ‘We have unique challenges, but we haven’t been unable to deal with them because of the great people we’re surrounded with.’
Despite the obstacles of traveling with a child, Humphries said having her son on tour brings some normalcy and has helped her separate her identity from the sport. Now, she goes to work just like anyone else. Her husband, Travis, cares for their son full-time on the road, allowing Humphries to focus fully on racing at the track. After her day of training or competing is over, Humphries transitions back into mom, her favorite role so far.
‘I was Kaillie Humphries, the Olympic gold medalist, and now I get to just be mom and the sport is what I do,’ Humphries said. ‘I slide down icy hills for fun, and then I get home. And regardless of the result, I have a little boy who just wants to be held and wants to be cuddled. And it doesn’t matter if I win or if I lose, a good day or a bad day… it’s something that I’m loving.’
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