elana meyers taylor finally captured Olympic gold on Monday in Cortina, winning the women’s monobob in 3: 57. 93. The 41-year-old American finished four-hundredths of a second ahead of Germany’s Laura Nolte in what was described as the closest women’s bobsled finish in Olympic history. The moment turned emotional as elana meyers taylor celebrated with her sons, Nico, 5, who has Down syndrome, and Noah, 3; both are deaf.
Gold decided by four-hundredths as the final heat flips the standings
The race swung in the closing run. Laura Nolte carried a 0. 15-second lead into the final heat, then lost 0. 19 seconds of ground, opening the door for the American to surge ahead and take the top spot.
Crossing the line in 3: 57. 93, the winning margin—just 0. 04 seconds—underlined how tight the monobob competition became at the finish. “I thought it was impossible, ” Meyers Taylor said. “I didn’t need it, but I wanted it. ”
Elana Meyers Taylor adds historic marks to a long medal journey
The win added another layer to an already decorated career. Meyers Taylor became the oldest American woman to earn a medal at the Winter Games, and her sixth career medal tied her with former speedskating star Bonnie Blair for the most by an American woman in Winter Olympic history.
It also extended her record for the most medals by any Black woman ever at the Winter Games. “To have my name up there with Bonnie Blair, it doesn’t even make sense to me, ” Meyers Taylor said.
Her Olympic medal path spans five Winter Games. She first won bronze in the two-woman competition in 2010 as a pusher for Erin Pac, then became a pilot and earned silver with Lauryn Williams at the 2014 Sochi Games. She won another silver four years later with Lauren Gibbs in Pyeongchang, then claimed bronze with Sylvia Hoffman at the 2022 Beijing Games, where she also won silver in monobob in the race’s Olympic debut.
Immediate reactions: a mother, a rival field, and a family at the center
Meyers Taylor’s celebration centered on her children. In an interview after the win, she emphasized what their presence meant and how their sacrifices fueled the moment. “It meant everything, especially having Nico and Noah there and knowing how much they sacrificed, ” she said, adding that they had traveled across Europe since November 1.
She also described how parenting shaped her mindset in sport. “Parenting my two sons with disabilities has done everything for me, ” she said. “It’s given me patience, it’s given me the drive to keep going, and it’s made me realize that even my worst days on bobsled are better than the worst days as a parent. ”
Compatriot Kaillie Humphries—40, a mother to a 1-year-old son, Aulden, and the monobob gold medalist four years ago—took bronze. Humphries framed the podium as a statement about longevity and motherhood in elite sport. “You get a lot of people that like to write you off as soon as you reach 40, it’s all downhill from there, is what you hear, ” Humphries said. “I think Elana and I are both proof that that’s not true. ”
Quick context
Monday’s win closed a five-Olympics chase for the top step of the podium in a discipline that has produced razor-thin margins. It also came with family front and center, as her sons’ disabilities were repeatedly cited by Meyers Taylor as a source of perspective and motivation.
What’s next
For now, the headline is the breakthrough: elana meyers taylor has Olympic gold after years of medals and near-misses, delivered in a finish that came down to hundredths of a second. The immediate focus shifts from the race clock to how she carries this moment forward—balancing elite competition and motherhood—after a Cortina victory that she said once felt impossible.
