Elana Meyers Taylor Celebrates Her First Olympic Gold Medal in Bobsledding
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Elana Meyers Taylor made history on Monday by winning her first Olympic gold medal in the women’s monobob at the Cortina Sliding Centre. This victory marked a significant milestone for the athlete, who has previously been recognized as Team USA’s most accomplished female bobsledder.
With this triumph, Meyers Taylor secured her sixth Olympic medal, tying with renowned speedskater Bonnie Blair as the most decorated American woman in Winter Olympic history.
Laura Nolte of Germany, who led the competition heading into the fourth and final heat, finished just four one-hundredths of a second behind in overall times, earning the silver medal. The bronze went to American athlete Kaillie Humphries.
Monobob, a single-person bobsled event, made its Olympic debut at the Beijing Games four years ago. Athletes compete by pushing the sled at the start and navigating a high-speed course that can reach speeds of 70 to 80 mph. In the inaugural event, Humphries captured the first gold medal.
Humphries, who initially competed for Canada, switched to the U.S. team in 2019 after reporting incidents of abuse and harassment from the Canadian bobsled federation. Although two investigations concluded that her claims could not be substantiated, she was subsequently allowed to compete for Team USA.
