Texas Bobsledder Wins Olympic Gold at 41 After Near-Retirement

Elana Meyers Taylor was ready to give up in December, texting her husband from Norway that her aching body and disappointing race results meant it was time to retire. Two months later, the 41-year-old Texas bobsledder stood on the Olympic podium wearing the one medal that had escaped her for two decades.

The New Braunfels resident won gold in women's monobob on Monday by just four hundredths of a second, edging Germany's runner-up in a breathtaking finish at the Milan Cortina Winter Games. It was her sixth career Olympic medal, tying the record for most medals by an American woman in Winter Games history.

Her comeback started with an anonymous San Antonio Spurs player who heard about her struggles. The player bought a plane ticket and sent Meyers Taylor's husband Nic to Norway to give his wife the pep talk she needed.

"There were so many moments during this entire season that I thought it wasn't possible," Meyers Taylor told reporters after her win. "My team around me believed in me the entire time."

The victory made her the oldest woman to win individual Winter Olympic gold and extended her record as the most decorated Black woman in Winter Olympic history. But her greatest audience watched from the sidelines: her two young sons, Nico and Noah.

Both boys were born premature and spent time in neonatal intensive care. Five-year-old Nico has Down syndrome, and both boys are deaf.

Before her final runs on Monday, Meyers Taylor taught her sons the signs for "gold medal" and "Olympic champion," just in case the impossible happened. After her win, three-year-old Noah put the medal around his own neck and signed "Noah, champion."

Why This Inspires

Meyers Taylor hopes her journey offers light to families facing similar challenges. She posted on Instagram that she wants other parents to know "their journey has just begun" and that hope exists even in the hardest moments.

She's one of only two mothers on Team USA's bobsled squad. While other athletes worry only about training schedules and race times, she juggles therapy appointments, teaching sign language, and explaining the world to two boys who experience it differently than most.

Now she's talking about retirement again. The difference? This time, the race has already been won.