Allow her to reintroduce herself. Bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor, 37, has become the most decorated woman and Black athlete in Winter Olympics history, reported CBS News. Meyers Taylor won her fifth Olympic medal Saturday in the two-woman bobsled event. She’s won a medal for every Olympic event she’s entered.
Per ESPN, Meyers Taylor participated in the event with Sylvia Hoffman, crossing the finish line at 4:05:48, fit pumping in celebration for the win for bronze.
From ESPN:
Last week, Meyers Taylor, 37, tied speedskater Shani Davis’ record for the most medals — four — when she won silver in the women’s monobob event, which debuted in Beijing.
“That is overwhelming,” Meyers Taylor said. “It’s so crazy to hear that stat and know that I’m part of a legacy that’s bigger than me.”
Getting to that finish line didn’t come without a challenge. Meyers Taylor caught COVID-19 soon after she arrived in Beijing, reported ESPN. She was also initially elected to be the American flagbearer in the Opening Ceremony until it was arranged for her to close out the ceremony instead, per PEOPLE.
With two negative COVID tests and a silver medal already under her belt from the inaugural monobob, she crossed the two-woman bobsled finish line elevating her to a decorated Olympic athlete of five medals, per ESPN.
From ESPN:
Meyers Taylor is a three-time silver medal winner — Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018 in the two-woman bobsled event and Beijing 2022 in the monobob — and a two-time bronze medalist — 2010 Vancouver and 2022 Beijing in two-woman bobsled.
Meyers Taylor, who has raced with 41 different teammates on 14 tracks in 11 countries, hinted at retirement earlier at the Beijing Olympics.
ESPN reported she may be considering retirement following this ground-breaking victory. “I’m going to take some time and really think about this. It’s going to be really hard to top this Olympics. Two medals and now closing it out with flagbearer, it’s going to be really hard to top that,” said Meyers Taylor via ESPN.
Black women have a thing for making history. Surely, if she competes again, she will not only surprise us but also herself with another victory for the textbooks.