Olympic legend who gave Order of Ikkos medal to Trump opens up about aligning with MAGA and political backlash
Olympic women's bobsled legend Kaillie Humphries awarded her Order of Ikkos medal to President Donald Trump Thursday.
She choked up and became emotional as she spoke at a Women's History Month event at the White House, recalling her pride in becoming a mom through IVF treatment made possible by Trump's policies.
Her Order of Ikkos medal, which is given to someone who has made an impact in an Olympian's journey, found its way to Trump due to the president's IVF policies and efforts to "save women's sports" from biological males.
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"I want to recognize the support and impact you've had on women's sports throughout the Olympic movement, specifically standing up to keep biological women in women's sports," Humphries said. "Furthermore, your policies are creating greater access to IVF, so families like mine can continue to grow.
"I believe this actually makes you the first president in history to be awarded an Order of Ikkos."
Trump responded, saying, "I knew I liked her."
During Thursday's event, Trump also re-affirmed his commitment to keeping biolgoical males out of women's sports at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and confirmed that protections of women's sports will be included in the Save America Act.
Humphries publicly aligned with Trump and Republicans during an interview with Fox News Digital Feb. 27, shortly after winning two bronze medals at Milan Cortina, becoming the most decorated women's bobsledder in Olympic history.
Humphries revealed she voted for Trump, her support for protecting women's sports, immigration enforcement as a legal immigrant from Canada and support for the U.S. men's hockey team for embracing Trump after winning gold amid left-wing backlash.
Humphries said she's had to deal with her own left-wing backlash since then.
"I've had some people not agree with my opinions and make it very known," Humphries told Fox News Digital Thursday.
"A lot of name-calling. You get called every name and word under the sun humanly possible … and, at the end of the day, politics can be very emotional for people, and I understand that. And everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and what they represent.
"That's their opinion, and I don't have to like it or agree with it. I wish it was different, but that's how it works."
Humphries said, throughout her journey as an athlete, she became used to competing with a "target on her back."
"I'm used to competing with a target on my back. I'm used to people not believing or wishing ill, hoping better for them," she added.
"Being in an environment where I'm not the most welcome or I'm not the most liked, I think that could come part in partial with becoming the most successful female bobsledder in Olympic history. So, I've learned how to deal with that. You'll find your people. You always find your people."
During her speech Thursday, Humphries choked up a few times, especially when the topic was becoming a mom to her 1½-year-old son.
She recalled how she was told she wouldn't be able to achieve elite level competitive results after giving birth and the satisfaction that came with defying those notions.
"There was no guarantee in my journey to becoming a mom that it was going to happen," she said. "There was a lot of people that told me, 'Your body will never be the same. And you can never get back to the Olympic podium.’ … So, more than anything I wanted to be able to show the world that you can have it all. Chase your dreams.
"Everyone likes to place limitations on people, moms specifically, that, your body is not the same, your mind will never be the same. And those limitations can be fearful for a lot of women."
Humphries defied those fears alongside her 2026 Team USA bobsled teammate, Air Force service member Jasmine Jones, who is a fellow mom. The two joined together to become the first mom duo to medal in bobsled for the U.S. in Olympic history.
"It just means so much," Jones told Fox News Digital. "You're able to chose being a parent as well as chasing your dream and your goal. So, being that first mom duo into the Olympics and getting a medal as well just shows into the future where other athletes who do come up and also want to pursue having a family can do so and pursue being an athlete."
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