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American bobsledder Kaillie Humphries couldn’t hold back her tears after presenting U.S. President Donald Trump with her Order of Ikkos medal on Thursday.

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Humphries presented the medal — which is given by Team USA to someone instrumental in an athlete’s success — to the president during a celebration of Women’s History Month at the White House.

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The Canadian athlete, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, awarded Trump the honour for supporting women’s sports and protecting in vitro fertilization (IVF) access.

“I’m so honoured to present this, my Order of Order of Ikkos medal, to you, Donald Trump,” said Humphries.

“I want to recognize the impact you had on women’s sports throughout the Olympic movement. Specifically, standing up to keep biological women in women’s sports. To keep the field of play safe and allow for fair competition.”

Only one medal to give

While speaking to Trump, Humphries described herself as a “legal immigrant” and talked about how every Olympic medallist gets one Order of Ikkos to present to someone “in honour and recognition of somebody who’s made a meaningful contribution to their journey to the podium.

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“Because Olympic medals are never achieved alone,” Humphries, 40, said to much applause.

Tapping the athlete on the shoulder, Trump told those in attendance: “I knew I liked her.”

The three-time Olympic gold medallist praised Trump’s IVF policies, which give women greater access “so families like mine can continue to grow as I look to become and expand my family again.”

Humphries said she believes Trump is the first president in history to be awarded the medal.

In February 2025, Trump signed an executive order to direct “policy recommendations to protect IVF access and aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for such treatments, People magazine reported.

That same month, the U.S. president signed another executive order, known as “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which called for restriction of transgender women from competing on women’s sports teams.

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Humphries ‘ultimate dream’ to become a mom

Originally from Calgary, Humphries won three gold medals in bobsled at the 2010, 2014 and 2022 Winter Olympics, respectively.

The bobsledder also won bronze twice at the Olympics, in 2018 and this year in Milano-Cortina.

Humphries said on Thursday it was a huge honour to win medals for her adopted home of the United States. A distinction, she said, was sweeter after being told she could never get back into mental and physical shape after becoming a mother, USA Today reported.

“The ultimate dream I had was to become a mom and then be able to stand on the Olympic podium,” said Humphries, who wed Travis Armbruster in 2019.

“This year I got to do that with my one-and-a-half-year-old son. Being able to earn these two bronze medals, they feel like gold. They really do. He is my gold medal and will always be for my entire life.”

Humphries’ son, Aulden, was born in June 2024, resulting from more than two years of IVF treatments after she was diagnosed in 2021 with stage four endometriosis.

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