Elana Meyers Taylor

American bobsled pilot and the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympics history, who finally won her elusive first Olympic gold at age 41 after six career medals across five Games.

Elana Meyers Taylor was born on 10 October 1984 in Douglasville, Georgia, and built an All-American softball career at George Washington University, graduating as the program's all-time leader in nearly every offensive category, before a disastrous Olympic softball tryout redirected her toward bobsled. She piloted to silver at the 2009 World Championships in her second season in the sport, and won her first Olympic medal, bronze, at the 2010 Vancouver Games. Meyers Taylor added silver at the 2014 Sochi Olympics with brakewoman Lauryn Williams, then made history that season by piloting a mixed-gender four-person crew - alongside her husband and fellow bobsledder Nic Taylor - to third place at the U.S. trials with only four days of experience in the discipline, becoming one of the first women to compete against men in international four-person bobsled. She won silver again at Pyeongchang 2018, and campaigned prominently for the introduction of women's monobob, which debuted at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where she won silver in the event and bronze in the two-woman, becoming the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympics history. At the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics, at age 41 and after a season marked by chronic back pain and a serious crash weeks earlier, Meyers Taylor finally won her first Olympic gold in the women's monobob, becoming the oldest individual gold medalist in Winter Olympics history and tying Bonnie Blair for the most career Winter Olympic medals by an American woman with six. She and her husband have two deaf sons, one of whom has Down syndrome, and she has become a prominent advocate for children with disabilities, while also helping recruit and mentor the next generation of American sliding-sport athletes.

Technically precise pilot known for consistency across every Olympic cycle and a rare longevity that carried her competitive peak into her forties

Regarded as one of the most accomplished bobsled pilots in history and a pioneering advocate for women's sliding sports, whose long-awaited gold medal became one of the most celebrated stories of her era

• 1x Olympic Gold Medalist, Monobob (2026)
• Most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympics history (6 medals)
• Oldest individual gold medalist in Winter Olympics history (age 41)
• Tied with Bonnie Blair for most career Winter Olympic medals by an American woman