Elana Meyers Taylor

Meet Olympic Bobsledder, Elana Meyers Taylor.

Born on Oct. 10, 1984, in Oceanside, California, Elana Meyers Taylor grew up passionate about softball. She excelled enough to play softball in college at The George Washington University. However, Taylor found a new passion when she began bobsledding in 2007. In 2010, Taylor and Erin Pac took bronze in her Olympic debut in the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. She followed up with silver medals in 2014 in Sochi and 2018 in PyeongChang.

Elana Meyers Taylor is no stranger to elite competition. She made history in 2014 as the first woman to win a medal in a men's international bobsled competition. The historic win came with her husband Nic Tayor as the brakeman on the team. But none of that was as challenging for the Taylors as welcoming their first child into the world during a global health crisis. Their son Nico was born with Down syndrome, and he required round-the-clock medical attention before he could leave the hospital.

"The NICU stay with my son was definitely, single-handedly the hardest thing ever," says Taylor, who also mentioned that Nico required plenty of attention once he got home. "Bobsled was the furthest thing from my mind." Nico is now 20 months old, and Taylor reports that he's her main motivation and that it's "crazy inspiring" to watch him overcome his own challenges. In addition to being affected with Down syndrome, Nico is also profoundly hearing impaired and requires a cochlear implant.

In January 2014, Elana Meyers Taylor suffered a concussion and won a world championship four days later. She had recurring symptoms and still works hard to recover from concussions and other injuries. She's donating her brain to concussion research to help future athletes, and she's well-known for her advocacy for gender and racial equality in sports. Be sure to watch Elana Meyers Taylor compete for her first Olympic gold medal in both two-woman bobsleigh and the inaugural women's monobob competition at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.

Questions?

How many medals does Elana Meyers Taylor have?: Elana Meyers Taylor won the bronze medal in two-woman bobsleigh in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic games, the silver medal in 2014 in Sochi, and a silver medal in 2018 in PyeongChang.
When can I watch Elana Meyers Taylor compete in the 2022 Winter Olympics?: Winter Olympics Bobsleigh competition will take place at the Xiaohaituo Bobsleigh and Luge Track starting on Feb 13 and will conclude on Feb 19. Elana Meyers Taylor will compete in the two-woman bobsled and the inaugural women's monobob competition, the only new medal event for women only. You can watch all the bobsled competition streaming live on Peacock.
How does Elana Meyers Taylor balance training and being a mom?: The Taylors have weights set up in their garage and report that their son, Nico, loves to watch Olympic weightlifting. He accompanies his family on the road when they go to competitions.