Kaysha Love gets 4 golds at bobsled world cup, USA’s season opener

Lake Placid Bobsled, skeleton, luge track where Salt Lake City's Kaysha Love won four gold world cup medals this week. Photo: courtesy of USA Bobsled/Skeleton

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — The International Bobsleigh Skeleton Federation’s (IBSF) North American Cup (NAC) kicked off at one of the two tracks in the USA on Saturday marking the first outdoor competition of the 2023/2024 sliding season for the stars and stripes. This event also coincided with the United States Bobsled Skeleton Federation’s (USABS) Bobsled Selection Races, presented by Ororo Heated Apparel.

The races began on Nov. 15 with 2-man bobsled and women’s monobob. 

Kaysha Love won gold in women’s monobob with her 2:03.11 combined run time. Lauren Brzozowski placed fourth with a time of 2:04.02, Sylvia Hoffman came in fifth with a time of 2:04.25 and Riley Tejck placed sixth with a time of 2:04.63.

Monobob on Nov. 16 brought another win for Love with her time of 2:02.39. Brzozowski placed third after a two-heat total of 2:03.60, Hoffman came in fourth with her 2:03.78 time and Tejcek came in fifth with a combined time of 2:04.15.

Nov. 18 ended with day 1 of 2-woman and 4-man bobsled. In 2-woman, Love and Jestena Mattson placed first with a time of 1:57.53 after two runs. Tejcek and Emily Renna placed third with a time of 1:58.86, Brzozowski and Macy Tarlton came in fourth with a time of 1:59.12, and Hoffman and Jasmine Jones placed fifth with a time of 1:59.50.

Events came to a close with more 2-Woman races and 4-man races on Nov. 19. Love earned her fourth first-place finish in a row along with teammate Azaria Hill with a time of 1:56.72. Brzozowski and Tarlton placed third with a time of 1:58.66, Tejcek and Sydney Milani came in fourth with a time of 1:58.82, while Hoffman and Mattson came in fifth with a time of 1:59.82.

“The athletes have waited a long time to get back on the ice and begin competing,” said Curt Tomesevicz, director of sport performance for USABS in a statement. “So, it was very rewarding to see so many great results. It is the reward of a lot of hard work in the off-season.”

Love grew up in Utah’s Salt Lake Valley and calls Park City’s her home track. She was a brake woman in the 2022 Olympic Games and has since transitioned to the driver’s seat with great success. While she has been on the world cup circuit before, this will be her first year there in the pilot’s seat.