American bobsleigh veteran Elana Meyers Taylor had won everything there is to win in the sport – except for Olympic gold.
That was until Monday when, on her fifth attempt, she finally added that missing piece to her extraordinary collection.
The 41-year-old triumphed in the women’s monobob to become the oldest individual Olympic champion at a Winter Games, overtaking Austrian snowboarder Benjamin Karl, 40.
Gold at Milan-Cortina adds to the three silver and two bronze medals she has already won across two events – the monobob and the two-woman bobsleigh – since competing at her first Games in Vancouver 16 years ago.
Her combined time of 3:57:93 over four heats was enough to edge out Germany’s Laura Nolte by just 0.04 seconds and compatriot Kaillie Armbruster Humphries by 0.12secs.
“Finally the gold! It took long enough, right?” Meyers Taylor told BBC Sport.
“It just goes to show you… just to keep persevering, my team and everybody behind me, it means so much to come away as Olympic champion.”
Victory makes her the most decorated female bobsleigh pilot of all time as well as the first mother to win Olympic bobsleigh gold.
The four-time world champion is also the most decorated black athlete at a Winter Olympics and this, her sixth medal, ties her with speed skater Bonnie Blair for the most by an American woman.
But although she continues to write her name in the history books, for Meyers Taylor it is also about empowering female athletes and inspiring women.
‘Ferocious athlete’ Meyers Taylor inspiring hard-working mums
As her gold was confirmed, Meyers Taylor sunk to her knees draped in the American flag and embraced her two young children.
She has made it no secret that her drive to continue to compete at the elite level is not only for her own family but for hard-working mothers everywhere.
“This medal is also for all those moms who weren’t necessarily able to live their dreams, but their kids are now their dreams,” she said.
“Because those people keep me grounded. Those people kept me going and those people are the ones who reach out to me when things are hard and encourage me.”
Meyers Taylor’s children, Nico and Noah, are both deaf while the oldest, Nico, also has down syndrome.
She is married to former bobsledder Nic Taylor and the family travel around together on the sport’s circuit for several months at a time.
“My kids have sacrificed so much. There’s so many people who have helped me win this gold medal,” she said.
“I’ve had different nannies throughout the years and every single one of them has done the work to help my kids get here and my husband, I can’t even put into words what this means and how many people it took to win this.”
A disability advocate, Meyers Taylor said she feels encouraged by the communities she is helping to inspire.
“I’ve had so many people from around the world reaching out and telling me their stories and how they have a kid with down syndrome or a kid who is deaf and they believe in me – it has just been incredible,” she said.
Former British bobsledder John Jackson, bronze medallist at Sochi 2014, knows her well from their early years on the bobsleigh circuit and said “if there was one person on the whole circuit who I think any athlete and coach wanted to see win gold it was Elana”.
“She is not only a ferocious athlete but also a beautiful human being and a genuine person,” he added.
“It has been a real show of dedication to keep going through the struggles of now being a mum in a high-performance sport, the dedication that takes to maintain that level of physical fitness and the hard work of being a parent. It shows her true nature.”
‘People like to write you off at 40’
Meyers Taylor, who has placed on the podium six times in her five Olympic appearances, has shared it with compatriot Armbruster Humphries, 40, on five of those occasions.
Armbruster Humphries, who has five Olympic medals of her own including three golds, became a mother 20 months ago and it is the first time two women over the age of 40 have finished on the podium at a Winter Games.
Both women celebrated with their children.
