Elana Meyers Taylor’s trip to the Beijing Olympics began in disappointment, but is ending with a crowning achievement.
When she arrived in China, the American tested positive for COVID-19, and had to isolate from her husband, Nic Taylor, and son, Nico, for more than a week. But after registering two negative tests, she was able to return and leave a lasting mark.
After she teamed with Sylvia Hoffman to earn bronze medal in the two-woman bobsled Saturday, Meyers Taylor became the most decorated black athlete in the history of the Winter Olympics with five medals. Shani Davis had previously held the record with four medals.
“That is overwhelming,” Meyers Taylor told reporters. “It’s so crazy to hear that stat and know that I’m part of a legacy that’s bigger than me.”
Meyers Taylor and Hoffman finished at 4:05.48, behind a pair of German bobsled teams. Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi took gold in 4:03.96 and Mariama Jamanka and Alexandra Burghardt won silver in 4:04.73. American Kaillie Humphries, teaming up with Kaysha Love, finished seventh after she previously won gold in the inaugural women’s monobob event.
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The bronze she won Saturday was the second medal in Beijing for the 37-year-old Meyers Taylor (she won silver in the monobob) breaking her own record as the oldest American woman to medal at the Winter Olympics.
She was ecstatic after the monobob, due to her bout with the virus that forced her to prepare for the race in isolation. Her practice runs weren’t good, and she had doubt about competing, but Meyers Taylor still found a way to finish second in the race.
“This is definitely the most difficult medal I’ve ever earned. It’s definitely been the hardest journey to get here,” the Oceanside, Calif. native said at the time. “So this is the most special by far, and I am so excited to take this medal back to my son.
“I am to the moon with this medal. I was, at one point, just trying to make it to the race. So to be here now, a silver medalist, it feels so amazing.”
Meyers Taylor’s stay in Beijing isn’t over quite yet. She will be the flag-bearer Sunday at the closing ceremony for Team USA. She was offered that honor for the opening ceremonies, but was unable to accept due to her positive COVID-19 test. She was replaced by speedskater Brittany Bowe.
Once the Beijing Games are over, Meyers Taylor could retire after winning two medals this year, winning silvers in Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang in 2018 in the two-woman bobsled and earning a bronze in Vancouver in 2010 in the two-woman bobsled.
“I’m going to take some time and really think about this,” she said. “It’s going to be really hard to top this Olympics. Two medals and now closing it out with flag-bearer, it’s going to be really hard to top that. … There’s a good chance that it’s my last one.”