CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Jadin O'Brien is thinking about 2028. Kaysha Love, Azaria Hill, Frank Del Duca and Kris Horn are already looking ahead to 2030. Kaillie Humphries Armbruster is wondering about 2034, maybe as an athlete, maybe in a different role.
And everyone is waiting to see Elana Meyers Taylor's next move.
USA Bobsled won what may as well be called the non-German division at the Milan Cortina Games, taking three medals. Germany — the sport's absolute powerhouse — won eight, Switzerland one, and no other nations found their way to the podium in any of the four bobsled events at these Olympics.
The three medals, a gold and two bronzes, match the U.S. total from the 2022 Beijing Games and American bobsledders have now won gold in back-to-back Winter Olympics for the first time since 1936 and 1948. The technology is getting better, thanks in large part to a sled builder who says he's sticking around through 2034 as well.
The first steps: The veterans' future
Meyers Taylor came as close as possible to saying she's retiring without actually saying it on Saturday night in the two-woman finale. And in fairness, immediately after a competition probably isn't the right time to decide anything.
She's 41. She and her husband want a third child. Being able to physically get through the Olympic season took a ton of work. All the signs suggest the end has arrived, and with six medals — tied with Humphries Armbruster for the most in women's Olympic bobsled history — there is nothing left to prove.
“Who am I to hold that honor of sliding with Elana?” O'Brien asked after the final run Saturday night. “But I hope people really just see these Games and give credit to E for who she is as a person and who she is as an athlete.”
Humphries Armbruster also wants a second child, and she was very public about her struggle with in vitro fertilization when she and her husband became parents for the first time. She's hoping this time goes more smoothly.
Having said that, Salt Lake City 2034 seems to be more on her mind than the 2030 Olympics in the French Alps.
“I know what a home Olympics is like,” Humphries Armbruster said. “I was able to compete in one for Canada in 2010 and it is such an amazing feeling. I have no doubts that Salt Lake City is going to be unbelievable and I want to be there. It may be as a coach, it may be as an administrator, it maybe as an athlete. I have no idea. A lot’s going to depend on how I feel over the next couple years. I haven’t ruled anything out. I really have made zero choices.”
But first, 2028
O'Brien was a three-time NCAA track and field champion at Notre Dame and will have her eyes on qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Bobsled is definitely not off the table for her going forward, either. She made it to the Olympics in her first season and after only two World Cup races, which is believed to be unprecedented on the women's level.
“Now I have a taste of what the Olympics is like, so why not do the summer version? Let's see what’s better,” O'Brien said. “I’m very excited and this whole ride with bobsled has been an incredible blessing and I could never have dreamed, had you asked me five months ago, that I'd be an Olympic bobsledder.”
Meyers Taylor is a huge believer in her, and said O'Brien is among the group that deserves some of the credit for her monobob gold — even though she was the only one in the sled.
“She's amazing, and I hope this gave her a good taste of what Olympics is like,” Meyers Taylor said. “I hope she had a great time. But at the end of the day, I wouldn’t have a monobob medal without her.”
Eyes on 2030
Love intends to be back, and the Utah native probably has eyes on 2034 as well. She and Hill are largely inseparable, and already are contenders on any track in the world.
“Rest assured, it’s definitely lit a fire under our butt,” Hill said of finishing fifth in two-woman. “We're going to keep working, we’re going to keep getting after it and you will see us again in 2030.”
Del Duca and Horn, the two top men's pilots in the program, plan to be back as well and many of the men's push athletes haven't ruled out another Olympic run. More depth will be needed, but the program could be in good shape to start the next four-year cycle.
The builder
It's pronounced “moo-sah.” It's spelled M-USA. And it stands for Made in the United States of America.
That is the U.S. sled program, and builder Marc Van Den Berg — who has found ways to build about $4 million worth of two-man and two-woman sleds, including all four of those that the Americans used in these Olympics — at no cost to the U.S. bobsled federation.
Make no mistake: Van Den Berg is a huge part of the program. His workshop in Lake Placid is basically the heartbeat of the team.
“Our equipment, I think, is exactly the same as the Germans. And some people say, even the Germans, that our equipment is better,” Van Den Berg said. “We're on the right track. We only have to improve a little bit to start and a little bit to drive.”
He plans to stay through the 2034 Olympics, and that likely means the sleds only get better. He's teamed up Massachusetts-based Advance Mfg. Co., Inc and North Carolina-based deBotech to help get the sleds built.
“We finally have equipment in two-man that is arguably some of the best in the world with the M-USA sleds,” Humphries Armbruster said. “I think it's awesome to know that they’re built and made in America, with all American parts. It's absolutely incredible and we’re really proud to showcase that here as a part of Team USA.”
___
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
