Elana Meyers Taylor's Journey from Despair to Olympic Glory
Elana Meyers Taylor, the celebrated U.S. bobsledder, once teetered on the brink of abandoning her sport entirely. Just weeks before Christmas, while training in Norway for a World Cup event, she found herself engulfed in physical pain, plagued by doubts about balancing her career with motherhood to two deaf children, and disheartened by poor racing results. In a moment of profound frustration, she sent a text to her husband, former bobsledder Nic Taylor, declaring, "I'm done." She lamented, "This is just impossible. It's never going to work."
A Turnaround Fueled by Support and Determination
Remarkably, barely two months after nearly quitting, Meyers Taylor secured the women's monobob gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Games. Her husband's swift intervention—flying to Norway after receiving her desperate texts—played a pivotal role in persuading her to persevere. At 41 years old, she made history as the oldest woman to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympics history, surpassing the previous record held by Anette Norberg, who was 43 when part of Sweden's curling team in 2010.
This victory marked Meyers Taylor's sixth career Olympic medal, tying her with Bonnie Blair for the most by a U.S. woman in the Winter Games and extending her record as the Black woman with the most medals in winter sports. Reflecting on her achievement, she admitted, "Oh, I don’t think I’m going to process this for a while. There were so many moments during this entire season, during this past four years, that we just thought it was impossible, or I thought it wasn’t possible. My team around me believed in me the entire time."
The Unlikely Role of the San Antonio Spurs
Support came from an unexpected quarter: the NBA's San Antonio Spurs. Nic Taylor, now a performance coach for the Spurs, received a plane ticket as a gift from a player—whose identity remains undisclosed—upon learning of Meyers Taylor's struggles. This gesture enabled him to rush to Norway and bolster her spirits. Without this timely intervention, the outcome might have been starkly different.
Jadin O'Brien, a bobsled rookie recruited by Meyers Taylor last fall and now an Olympian herself, described the gold medal win as "the coolest sports moment I’ve ever been part of." This praise holds significant weight, given O'Brien's background as a three-time NCAA indoor track champion in pentathlon and a 10-time All-American at Notre Dame. She emphasized, "Yeah, that's saying something. It was beyond incredible."
Family Moments and Future Uncertainties
In a heartwarming pre-race ritual, Meyers Taylor taught her sons, Nico, 5, and Noah, 3, sign language for terms like "gold medal" and "Olympic champion," though she initially doubted they would need to use them. Post-victory, Noah proudly donned the medal, signing "Noah, champion," a moment Meyers Taylor cherished despite the toddler's pants-free state. "He knew," she said with a smile.
This triumph was particularly sweet given her challenging season, where she ranked 10th in World Cup monobob standings and finished 19th in a race on the Olympic track in November. Her Olympic history had been a mix of heartbreak and accomplishment, including narrow losses in the two-woman events at the 2014 Sochi and 2018 Pyeongchang Games. This time, she edged out silver medalist Laura Nolte of Germany by a mere 0.04 seconds, finally clinching the gold.
Looking ahead, Meyers Taylor hinted at retirement, citing desires for a third child and the logistical challenges of touring with a growing family. "I was determined to keep fighting, determined to just put down the best runs I could," she stated. "And look what happened." With nothing left to prove in the sport, her legacy as a resilient champion is firmly cemented.
