Nolte leads, US drivers Meyers Taylor and Humphries Armbruster giving chase in Olympic monobob

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — The only thing Elana Meyers Taylor has yet to do in her bobsled career is win Olympic gold, which made her process of choosing a strategy for the final two runs of the women’s monobob race at the Milan Cortina Games extremely easy.

“I’m chasing,” Meyers Taylor said.

Game on. The medal hunt in Cortina could be a wild one Monday night.

Laura Nolte of Germany is the leader after Sunday's first two runs of the women's monobob competition, finishing in 1 minute, 59.12 seconds. And right on her heels — a pair of American 40-something mothers in Meyers Taylor and Kaillie Humphries Armbruster, chasing even more Olympic medals for their collections.

Nolte's lead is 0.22 seconds over Meyers Taylor and 0.31 seconds over Humphries Armbruster going into Monday night's final two runs of the competition.

“It’s coming down to the wire," Humphries Armbruster said. "There's definitely lots of room to make mistakes on this track. Ice conditions are changing every single run. I've got to work real hard at the start. I’m trying to keep up with mid-20-year-olds and I’m still only year and a half postpartum, so there’s definitely still room for improvement.”

After the first three, there's a bit of a gap to the rest of the medal-chasing pack: Switzerland's Melanie Hasler is fourth, 0.78 seconds off Nolte's lead, and Kaysha Love of the U.S. is fifth — 0.89 seconds back.

It is a loaded leaderboard.

Nolte is the reigning World Cup overall monobob champion. Humphries Armbruster won monobob gold at Beijing when the sport debuted in the Olympic program four years ago. Meyers Taylor won the silver in that Olympic race. Hasler is a 10-time World Cup medalist, always seeming to be on the brink of a breakthrough. Love — who clearly wasn't happy after experiencing a ton of trouble in her second heat, dropping one spot to fifth — won the world monobob title last year at Lake Placid.

“Everything is still open. This is monobob," Hasler said. "It’s definitely going to be hard to stay in the fourth place, but I want to attack the medals for sure.”

Did Meyers Taylor expect it to be this close?

“No, no,” she said. “Actually, I thought it would be even closer. … It’s a very competitive field, the girls are all really great and it’s just one of those kinds of tracks where it’s anybody’s ball game.”

Australia's Bree Walker, a winner of five medals — three gold — in seven World Cup races this season, struggled in her first heat but rallied to be seventh going into Monday, one spot behind Lisa Buckwitz of Germany. But they're both about a full second behind Nolte, and well over a half-second behind the bronze-medal spot.

“Olympic Games are four heats and it’s a marathon," Walker said. "And you just have to keep going, keep going, keep going.”

Nolte had the fastest time in the first heat; Humphries Armbruster had the fastest time in the second heat.

“I wasn’t nervous at all," Nolte said.

That may not have been totally truthful.

“I mean, of course, a little bit nervous," she confessed. "I’m always a little bit nervous, or excited. But I can also trust my abilities.”

Her abilities aren't in question: Nolte won seven and medaled in 13 of the 14 women's World Cup races this season — and she's been even better in two-woman than she's been in monobob. But she came to Cortina with a goal of double gold, and after Day 1, she's in the best spot.

But to win Monday night, she'll only have to hold off the two best Olympic women's bobsledders ever: a five-time medalist in Meyers Taylor, and a four-time medalist — three of them golds — in Humphries Armbruster. They're the two oldest women's bobsledders in Olympic history, and still in position to find their way to the medal stand.

“Just put down four good runs and see what happens,” Meyers Taylor said. "It’s about putting down four runs and we’ll see, because I’m ready to go after it. I’m ready to get to it. Kaillie's driving well and Laura’s driving well, so I've got my hands full.”

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Switzerland's Melanie Hasler starts for a women's monobob run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

United States' Kaillie Armbruster Humphries starts for a women's monobob run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Germany's Laura Nolte starts for a women's monobob run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

United States' Elana Meyers Taylor starts for a women's monobob run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Australia's Bree Walker starts for a women's monobob run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Germany's Laura Nolte prepares to start for a women's monobob run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

United States' Elana Meyers Taylor starts for a women's monobob run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

United States' Kaysha Love starts for a women's monobob run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

United States' Kaillie Armbruster Humphries starts for a women's monobob run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo says he’s healthy and wants to play even as the Milwaukee Bucks continue to say the two-time MVP is too injured to take the floor.

Antetokounmpo missed a 10th straight game on Friday night against the Boston Celtics due to what the team has described as a left knee hyperextension and bone bruise. Antetokounmpo hasn’t played since landing awkwardly during a March 15 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

“I’m healthy,” Antetokounmpo told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and The Athletic before Friday’s game. “I hate it when people force me to do things against my nature. I’m a player. I get paid to play.”

For the last couple of weeks, Antetokounmpo has participated in pregame warmups without showing any apparent signs of injury.

Antetokounmpo also noted that the Bucks should have known this about him since the 31-year-old has spent his entire 13-year career in Milwaukee.

Throughout that time, Antetokounmpo has had a reputation for rapid returns from injury, most notably when he hyperextended his knee during Milwaukee’s 2021 playoff run but missed two games before returning to lead the Bucks to their first title in half a century.

“You know who you’re dealing with,” Antetokounmpo told reporters. “So, for somebody to come and tell me to not play or to not compete, it’s like a slap in my face.”

The Bucks still had a remote chance of earning a 10th straight playoff berth at the time of that Indiana game, but they were officially eliminated from contention last week. There’s also the possibility of Antetokounmpo getting hurt again if he returns to action — he has missed a career-high 41 games this season and had two extended absences due to calf strains.

“I understand the circumstances — yes, we’re not going to be in the playoffs,” Antetokounmpo said. “For some people’s eyes, it’s not worth it for me to be out there. But for me, it’s something that goes against my nature.”

Antetokounmpo also wanted the opportunity to play alongside his younger brother, Alex, who made his NBA debut Sunday. There was a possibility of three Antetokounmpo brothers playing alongside each other in the same game, since Giannis’ older brother, Thanasis, also is on the Bucks.

“When my dad passed away, I pretty much raised (Alex),” Antetokounmpo said. “He’s able to be on the team and suit up and chase an opportunity to be great. You really think I don’t want to suit up and play with my brother? Anybody who thinks that is an idiot.”

Antetokounmpo’s desire to play — and the Bucks’ wishes to rest him — drew the attention of the National Basketball Players Association last month.

“The Player Participation Policy was designed by the league to hold teams accountable and ensure that when an All-Star like Giannis Antetokounmpo is healthy and ready to play, he is on the court,” the union said in a statement. “Unfortunately, anti-tanking policies are only as effective as their enforcement; fans, broadcast partners, and the integrity of the game itself will continue to suffer as long as ownership goes unchecked. We look forward to collaborating with the NBA on meaningful new proposals that will directly address and discourage tanking.”

This dispute between Antetokounmpo and the Bucks comes at a time when his future in Milwaukee is uncertain. Antetokounmpo’s name dominated league-wide discussions leading up to the trade deadline, though the Bucks ultimately kept him.

Antetokounmpo becomes eligible to sign a four-year contract extension worth up to $275 million in October. If he doesn’t sign the extension, Antetokounmpo could become a free agent after the 2026-27 season, or the Bucks could decide to trade him beforehand.

Now they find themselves at odds over how to handle the rest of this season.

“I don’t know where the relationship goes from there,” Antetokounmpo said. “We’ve got to go to couples therapy.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Injured Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo, center right, talks with an official, center left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)