Today In Black History: Elana Meyers Taylor
The Bobsled Champion Who Defied the Odds
Issue #996 Today In Black History, Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Photo Credit: Women’s Sports Foundation
Elana Meyers Taylor stands as one of the most remarkable athletes in Winter Olympic history. At 41, competing in her fifth Olympic Games, she finally achieved what had eluded her throughout her storied career: Olympic gold. On February 16, 2026, at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Meyers Taylor won the women’s monobob event, becoming the oldest American woman to win an individual gold medal at the Winter Games. This victory marked her sixth Olympic medal overall, making her the highest-achieving Black woman and tying her with legendary speed skater Bonnie Blair for the most Winter Olympic medals by an American woman.
Born on October 10, 1984, in Oceanside, California, Elana Alessandra Meyers was raised in Douglasville, Georgia, a suburb west of Atlanta. Her father, Eddie Meyers, was a professional football player who played running back for the Navy from 1978 to 1981, establishing a strong athletic legacy in the family. Her mother, Janet, played an instrumental role in encouraging her daughter’s athletic pursuits.
Meyers Taylor’s Olympic dream began at age 11 when she witnessed the 1996 Summer Olympics in her home state of Georgia. She initially envisioned herself as an Olympic softball player, beginning to play the sport at age nine. She attended George Washington University on a softball scholarship, where she became the program’s first-ever recruit and graduated as the all-time record holder in nearly every offensive category.
However, when a professional softball career seemed unlikely, her parents suggested she try bobsledding. In 2007, Meyers Taylor made her bobsled debut and immediately made the U.S. National Team, launching a career that would span nearly two decades.
Meyers Taylor’s path to her first Olympic gold medal was anything but straightforward. She made her Olympic debut at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, where she won bronze in the two-woman bobsled. Over the next 16 years and four Olympic Games, she accumulated five more medals: silver in the two-woman event at both the 2014 Sochi Games and the 2018 PyeongChang Games, bronze in the two-woman bobsled at the 2022 Beijing Games, and silver in her Olympic debut in the monobob event at Beijing 2022.
However, the elusive gold medal remained out of reach. In December 2025, just weeks before the Milano Cortina Games, Meyers Taylor nearly quit. While training in Norway for a World Cup bobsled weekend, she texted her husband: “I’m done. This is just impossible. It’s never going to work.” Her body was hurting, she questioned whether she was making the right decision for her two deaf children, and the racing results were disappointing.
Her husband, Nic Taylor, flew to Norway to convince her to continue. Additionally, when a San Antonio Spurs player learned of her struggles, the NBA team gifted Nic a plane ticket so he could be with his wife during this critical moment. This support proved transformative.
On February 16, 2026, Meyers Taylor delivered one of the most emotional moments of the Milano Cortina Games. Racing from second place through three runs, she edged Germany’s Laura Nolte by just 0.04 seconds to claim gold with a four-run time of 3 minutes, 57.93 seconds. As she crossed the finish line, she jumped into the air, threw her fists skyward, waved the American flag, and fell to her knees in tears. Her two young sons watched from behind the barriers as their mother made history.
Elana Meyers Taylor’s personal life is as remarkable as her athletic achievements. She married fellow bobsledder Nic Taylor on April 24, 2014, after a chance meeting in 2011. Nic, who was working with the USA Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, called the office looking for lost paperwork and spoke with Elana, who was interning there at the time. They talked for hours before meeting in person at a training center. Nic proposed to her in January 2013 at the World Championships podium after she won a silver medal. Their wedding featured bobsledding-themed elements and innuendos, reflecting their shared passion for the sport.
Nic Taylor is a professional bobsledder, chiropractor, and conditioning coach who has been instrumental in Elana’s career. He designs her workouts, supports her competition schedule, and currently works as a performance coach with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.
The couple has two sons: Nico, born in February 2020, and Noah, born in 2022. Both children were born deaf due to a genetic mutation unrelated to Down syndrome. Additionally, though, Nico was born with Down syndrome. Nico spent his first eight days in the neonatal intensive care unit after being born three weeks early via emergency C-section.
Motherhood has profoundly transformed Meyers Taylor’s perspective on life and competition. After Nico’s birth, she and Nic learned American Sign Language to communicate with their son, and they continue to use it at home with both boys. Before the monobob final at Milano Cortina, Meyers Taylor spent time teaching her sons the signs for “bobsled,” “race,” and “champion.” When she won gold, she signed to Nico: “Mommy won.”
The experience of raising two deaf children has reshaped her values. She has said that while her number one goal before having children was to win an Olympic gold medal, motherhood taught her that “your value lies in who you are as a person,” not just in accomplishments. She emphasizes to her sons the importance of perseverance and pursuing dreams regardless of obstacles or what others think.
The family lives in New Braunfels, Texas, where they have built a stable home base after more than a decade of training at Lake Placid. The Taylors travel with their sons during the bobsled season as much as possible.
Beyond her achievements on the ice, Meyers Taylor has become a powerful advocate for multiple causes. She is the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympic history, a distinction she has used to speak out against racism in sports. In June 2020, she called attention to instances of racism she had faced throughout her bobsledding career, prompting the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation to create a task force to investigate such incidents. She has also created workshops for athletes to share their experiences facing racism and to expose the biases that lead to discriminatory behavior.
In January 2019, Meyers Taylor was elected president of the Women’s Sports Foundation, a role that reflected her passion for advocating for female athletes. She has consistently fought for equality and has stated that she has “a responsibility to fight for equality for those who can’t.”
As a disability advocate, Meyers Taylor has used her platform to raise awareness about children with disabilities and families navigating deafness and Down syndrome. Her openness about her sons’ conditions has helped normalize these conversations and provided hope to other families facing similar challenges.
Meyers Taylor has played a direct role in expanding Team USA’s bobsled pipeline. She has been instrumental in recruiting talented athletes into sliding sports, including:
Mystique Ro, a track and field athlete from Queens (Charlotte), who now competes in skeleton.
Jadin O’Brien, a three-time NCAA champion pentathlete from Notre Dame, now competes in bobsled. O’Brien has said, “She is the reason I’m here.”
Jasmine Jones, a track and field athlete from my alma mater, Eastern Michigan University, who now competes in bobsled.
Meyers Taylor has also been involved in training camps and clinics, where she shares her expertise in sled setup, push technique, and race-day strategy—areas in which her knowledge is widely respected.
Throughout her career, Meyers Taylor has broken numerous barriers in bobsledding:
In November 2014, she became the first woman to win a medal in a men’s event at an international competition, racing in a mixed-gender four-person bobsled team with her husband as her brakeman.
She was instrumental in advocating for women’s monobob to become an Olympic event, which debuted in 2022.
She was elected by fellow Team USA athletes as an opening ceremony flag bearer for the 2022 Beijing Olympics (though she was unable to attend).
Meyers Taylor holds both a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and a master’s degree in sports management from George Washington University. She also earned an MBA in Finance from Keller Graduate School of DeVry University.
Her educational background has informed her work beyond athletics; she has worked at the International Olympic Committee headquarters in Lausanne, where she focused on auditing budget requests and analyzing financial planning processes.
Additionally, Meyers Taylor has represented the USA women’s rugby sevens team, competing in tournaments in Guangzhou, China, and Amsterdam, demonstrating her versatility as an athlete.
At 41, Elana Meyers Taylor has achieved what she once thought was impossible. Her gold medal at Milano Cortina represents not just a personal triumph but a testament to resilience, determination, and the power of a strong support system. She has become a symbol of what is possible when an athlete refuses to give up, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
Meyers Taylor has indicated a potential shift toward coaching, mentorship, and athlete advocacy roles. Her technical expertise, reputation for resilience, and passion for developing the next generation of bobsledders position her as a valuable asset to the sport in whatever capacity she chooses.
Elana Meyers Taylor’s impact on bobsledding and women’s sports will endure. She has proven that motherhood, disability, and age are not barriers to excellence—they are simply part of a fuller, more meaningful story of human achievement.
Today In Black History
In 1836, showman P.T. Barnum exhibited African American slave Joice Heth, falsely claiming she was the 161-year-old nursemaid to George Washington.
In 1837, Cheney University of Pennsylvania became the first HBCU in the United States.
In 1870, Hiram R. Revels of Mississippi was sworn in as the first Black U.S. Senator and the first Black representative in Congress, but he was not officially seated in either office.
In 1948, Martin Luther King, Jr. was ordained as a Baptist minister.
In 1964, Olympic Boxing Gold Medalist Cassius Clay officially changed his name to Muhammad Ali after converting to Islam.
In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld affirmative action by a 5-4 vote.
In 1992, Blues musician Muddy Waters was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards.
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