Elana Meyers Taylor arrived at Milan Cortina 2026 with one of the most storied Olympic careers in women’s bobsled history.
At 41 years old and at her fifth Olympic Games, Meyers Taylor was already a five-time Olympic medalist. Three of them silver, two bronze.
Her golden moment finally came on Monday at Cortina Sliding Centre.
In a stunning final run, Meyers Taylor, who was 2nd to Germany’s Laura Nolte through the first three heats, was flawless in her last gasp for gold. Then, she stood in the leader’s box as the dominant Nolte started her run.
RESULTS
And in what was almost unthinkable for Nolte, she staggered. The Beijing 2022 two-woman gold medalist skidded through the middle portion of the track as her margin over Meyers Taylor tumbled. Then the timer, once illuminated in green, turned red. When she crossed the line, it was a 0.04-second deficit to her American rival.
“It actually happened. It’s going to take a while for this to sink in,” Meyers Taylor told reporters after the event. “I still can’t believe it. I can’t even put into words what this means, I’m just so excited.”
Standing in the leader’s box with Meyers Taylor was Kaillie Humphries, who had already secured her bronze medal. Humphries, who entered the 2026 Games the defending gold medalist in monobob, shared the podium with Meyers Taylor in 2022. This time, Humphries was by Meyers Taylor’s side as the latter fell to her knees, overcome with the emotion of finally feeling the very peak of Olympic glory.
“The goal was just to go out and push as hard as I could, drive as best I could, and just take it one step at a time,” Humphries told reporters after winning her fifth Olympic medal. I’m really proud to be able to be on the podium with these women, to have the opportunity to continue to do the sport that I love, and to challenge myself physically and mentally.”
Kaysha Love finished 7th, capping off an up-and-down four runs for the Utah native. Love was third-fastest after Run 1, but blips in Runs 2 and 4 ate into her time in the end. Love is competing in her second Olympic Games but participating in monobob for the first time.
