America\u2019s most successful female bobsledder finally got her gold medal. She was four one-hundredths of a second faster than Germany\u2019s Laura Nolte \u2014 compiled over four heats \u2014 netting her sixth Olympic medal.<\/p>\n
Those prizes \u2014 a gold, three silvers and two bronzes \u2014 tied Meyers Taylor with speedskater Bonnie Blair as the most decorated U.S. woman in Winter Olympic<\/a> history.<\/p>\n \u201cI still can\u2019t even put into words what this means having the gold medal,\u201d Meyers Taylor said. \u201cIt\u2019s still surreal.\u201d<\/p>\n She became the oldest American woman to win a gold medal at the Winter Games, having covered the winding course four times in two days in a total of 3 minutes, 57.93 seconds.<\/p>\n American gold medalist Elana Meyers Taylor and bronze medalist Kaillie Humphries pose for a photo during the medal ceremony for monbob bobsled in Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo, Italy, on Monday.<\/p>\n (Julian Finney \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n Monobob is a women\u2019s event that made its debut at the Beijing Olympics four years ago. Only one person competes, pushing the sled at the start and piloting down the course at speeds of 70 to 80 mph. There were 20 competitors in the inaugural event, and American Kaillie Humphries<\/a> \u2014 who claimed the bronze Monday \u2014 won the first gold medal in the event.<\/p>\n The triumph came after Meyers Taylor went a whole World Cup season without standing on a podium, finishing 10th in the standings.<\/p>\n \u201cThe season was miserable,\u201d she said, noting she has suffered back problems for months.<\/p>\n Her husband and two young children were waiting for her at the finish line, and Meyers Taylor is about as down-to-earth as an elite athlete can get. Both of their children have special needs and are deaf.<\/p>\n American Elana Meyers Taylor celebrates after winning the monobob bobsled competition in Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo, Italy, on Monday.<\/p>\n (Al Bello \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n She taught them some new words in sign language in the days leading up to the race.<\/p>\n \u201cWe went over what \u2018champion\u2019 is,\u201d she said, adding she also taught them to sign \u201cbobsled race\u201d and \u201cgold.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about her pre-race assessment that a gold medal would mean everything and nothing to her, she smiled and said: \u201cIt still is everything, and it still is nothing. Because at the end of the day, in six days I\u2019ve got school pickups and dropoffs in the middle of Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n Humphries \u2014 who has three golds and two bronzes in her career \u2014 was tied with Meyers Taylor heading into the fourth and final heat. They are both mothers who split time between intense training and all the challenges of parenthood.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope it inspires other people to go out and chase it, whatever it may be,\u201d said Humphries, 40.<\/p>\n \u201cI grew up in a sport where if you have kids once you get to 40, it\u2019s all downhill and alumni \u2026 I get to be proof that that\u2019s not true.\u201d<\/p>\n American gold medalist Elana Meyers Taylor and bronze medalist Kaillie Humphries celebrate with Humphries\u2019 son after the monobob competition at the Winter Olympics in Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo, Italy, on Monday.<\/p>\n (Julian Finney \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"U.S.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771322179_883_.jpeg\")
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