On February 21, 2026, Jasmine Jones won a bronze medal in the 2-Woman Bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics in Cortina, Italy. Jones, an alumna of Eastern Michigan University, competed for Team USA alongside pilot Kaillie Armbruster Humphries.
The two-woman bobsleigh competition
The competition consisted of four heats held over two days. In the first heat, Jones and Humphries recorded a time of 56.92 seconds, which established a track record and placed them in first position. In the second heat, they finished in 57.24 seconds. At the conclusion of the first day, the pair held third place overall among the competing field.
On the second day of competition, Jones and Humphries completed the third heat in 57.57 seconds. They remained in third place entering the final run. Their total time for the four runs was 3:49.21, securing the bronze medal.
The gold and silver medals were won by teams from Germany. Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi took gold with a time of 3:48.46, and Lisa Buckwitz and Neele Schuten took silver with a time of 3:48.99. Jones and Humphries led the three American teams in the event. The second U.S. team, Kaysha Love and Azaria Hill, finished in fifth place with a time of 3:49.71. The third U.S. team, Elana Meyers Taylor and Jadin O'Brien, finished seventh with a time of 3:50.49.
Historical context for Eastern Michigan University
Jones is the ninth student-athlete from Eastern Michigan University to win an Olympic medal. Her bronze is the first Olympic medal won by an EMU athlete representing the United States since Earl Jones earned a bronze medal in the 800 meters at the 1984 Summer Olympics. This result ended a 42-year period without a U.S. Olympic medal for the university's athletes.
The history of EMU Olympic medalists includes the following individuals:
- 1960: Hayes Jones (USA), 110m Hurdles, Bronze.
- 1964: Hayes Jones (USA), 110m Hurdles, Gold.
- 1976: Hasely Crawford (Trinidad and Tobago), 100m, Gold.
- 1984: Earl Jones (USA), 800m, Bronze.
- 1996: Sevatheda Fynes (Bahamas), 4x100 Relay, Silver.
- 2000: Sevatheda Fynes (Bahamas), 4x100 Relay, Gold.
- 2000: Clement Chukwu (Nigeria), 4x400 Relay, Silver.
- 2000: Nduka Awazie (Nigeria), 4x400 Relay, Silver.
- 2026: Jasmine Jones (USA), 2-Woman Bobsleigh, Bronze.
Prior to Jones, EMU track and field alumni had only competed in the Summer Olympics, a sequence that began in 1960.
Collegiate track and field background
Jasmine Jones is a 5-foot-8 athlete from Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and attended Hempfield Area High School. She was a marketing major at Eastern Michigan University. During her senior year in 2017-18, Jones was named the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Most Outstanding Track Performer.
At the 2018 MAC Indoor Championships, Jones won the 200-meter (23.98 seconds) and 400-meter (54.56 seconds) events. She also participated in the distance medley relay team that placed seventh at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships with a time of 11:04.81, earning her First Team All-American honors.
In outdoor competition during her senior year, Jones placed second in the 400 meters at the 2018 MAC Championships with a personal-best time of 53.46 seconds. She also won a gold medal as part of the 4x100 relay team and won bronze medals in the 200 meters and 4x400 relay. Her outdoor 200-meter personal record of 23.51 seconds and her 100-meter time of 11.62 seconds were both recorded at the TCU Invitational in 2018.
A lasting legacy
Jasmine Jones’ journey from the sprints of the Mid-American Conference to the podium in Italy serves as a testament to the versatility of the elite athlete. By becoming the first Eagle to find glory on the ice, she has redefined what is possible for the university’s future Olympians. Her name now sits alongside EMU greats like Hayes Jones and Hasely Crawford, ensuring that her 2026 bronze medal will be celebrated for generations to come.
