Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
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The gold medal that long eluded her finally hanging around her neck, Elana Meyers Taylor immediately laughed off any notion that she was in the middle of a life-changing moment.
“In six days, I’ve got school pick up and drop offs in the middle of Texas,” she said, while wearing her Team USA parka and snow pants. “Like none of this stuff, I can’t wear any of it when I go home.”
So much of these Olympic Games have felt like a lesson in perspective. Gained and lost. Appreciated over time and sometimes delivered with abruptness. Hard earned in some cases. Life earned in all.
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The singular focus required to be an Olympic athlete has hardly been abandoned but its edges have been softened by medalists who have been through some stuff: failure, injury, disappointment and – in the case of two women standing in a makeshift media interview zone at the top of the Cortina Curling Center – motherhood.
Seconds after she watched German Laura Nolte cross the finish line a mere .04 behind her to secure that elusive gold, Meyers Taylor crumbled to the ground, the American flag draped around her.
Soon her two boys, Noah and Nico, found her – unsure about the commotion and clearly uninterested in the magnitude of the moment. Now with her sixth Olympic medal across five Games, their mom is officially tied with Bonnie Blair as the most decorated female American Winter Olympian in history. Noah and Nico just wanted to snuggle.
Meantime, her teammate Kaillie Armbrusrer Humphries, who took bronze, has now medaled in five consecutive Olympics. Her 15-month-old son, Aulden – who she’s pretty sure napped through the actual event – was more interested in running around in the snow than posing with mom for a picture on the podium.
“I grabbed him and his eyes were like this,” said Humphries, closing her own eyes half-mast. “And I was like, ‘Sorry, kid but I’m getting this moment with you.’ But he honestly couldn’t care less.”
Such is life for any mother, even those with brand new shiny necklaces.
They won gold, Japan’s first medal in Olympic pair skating.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1067″ width=”1600″ loading=’lazy’/>
They won gold, Japan’s first medal in Olympic pair skating.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1067″ width=”1600″ loading=’lazy’/>
Canada won 2-1 to clinch their spot in the gold medal game against the US.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”4667″ width=”7000″ loading=’lazy’/>
women’s freestyle skiing big air finals on February 16.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2686″ width=”4028″ loading=’lazy’/>
her first gold medal, tying speed skating legend Bonnie Blair as the most decorated female US Winter Olympian ever. Meyers Taylor won three silvers and two bronzes in her four previous Olympics.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1995″ width=”2887″ loading=’lazy’/>
Austria won gold after the final round was canceled because of heavy snowfall.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”4529″ width=”6791″ loading=’lazy’/>
The United States won 5-0.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3787″ width=”5680″ loading=’lazy’/>
her second gold of the Games.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”4266″ width=”6399″ loading=’lazy’/>
She later won silver in the event.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3183″ width=”4774″ loading=’lazy’/>
most decorated Winter Olympian ever.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3621″ width=”5431″ loading=’lazy’/>
despite Olympic tradition to avoid brawls.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3410″ width=”5115″ loading=’lazy’/>
He made history by securing the first ever medal at a Winter Games for Brazil — and South America.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1332″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
A shocking performance that included two falls and some technical gaffes saw him fall all the way to eighth place.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2035″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
He won gold after setting the bar incredibly high at 95.00 in his second run.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3383″ width=”5074″ loading=’lazy’/>
throw them on the rink as a sign of appreciation.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3841″ width=”5762″ loading=’lazy’/>
his third gold medal of these Games.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2534″ width=”3801″ loading=’lazy’/>
He would go on to win the gold.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3333″ width=”5000″ loading=’lazy’/>
gold-medal win in snowboard cross on February 13.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2170″ width=”3259″ loading=’lazy’/>
finished second this time behind South Korea’s Choi Ga-on.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2074″ width=”3222″ loading=’lazy’/>
Heraskevych was disqualified for “refusing to adhere” to the International Olympic Committee’s athlete expression guidelines since his helmet is adorned with images of Ukrainian athletes killed in Russian attacks. Kirsty Coventry, the president of the International Olympic Committee, met with Heraskevych to try to convince him to adhere to the guidelines, but the Ukrainian stood his ground, resulting in the disqualification.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”5504″ width=”8256″ loading=’lazy’/>
the oldest American to compete in the Winter Games.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”4000″ width=”6000″ loading=’lazy’/>
Hämmerle narrowly won, sliding over the finish line just ahead of Grondin.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1705″ width=”2556″ loading=’lazy’/>
Lollobrigida won the 5,000 meters and collected her second gold of these Olympics. Conijn won silver and Wiklund took the bronze.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2431″ width=”3524″ loading=’lazy’/>
he proposed at the finish line area of the super-G race on February 12.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2748″ width=”4122″ loading=’lazy’/>
winning her second cross-country gold of these Games.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3760″ width=”5653″ loading=’lazy’/>
setting an Olympic record in the 1,000 meters on Wednesday, February 11. He finished with a time of 1:06.28 and took the gold.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3293″ width=”4600″ loading=’lazy’/>
took silver with France winning.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2596″ width=”3894″ loading=’lazy’/>
their 4-1 victory over Finland on February 11. It was the opening game of the men’s hockey tournament.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”4269″ width=”6404″ loading=’lazy’/>
She won the event to claim her second gold of these Games.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1124″ width=”1580″ loading=’lazy’/>
competes in halfpipe qualifying on February 11. Kim won halfpipe gold in the last two Olympics.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1263″ width=”1894″ loading=’lazy’/>
Von Allmen won his third gold of these Olympics. He also won gold in the downhill and the team combined event.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”4747″ width=”7120″ loading=’lazy’/>
The Americans finished 1-2 in the moguls, with Lemley winning gold.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3859″ width=”5682″ loading=’lazy’/>
placed fourth.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1333″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
the United States’ largest victory in the longstanding Olympic rivalry with Canada.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1600″ width=”2400″ loading=’lazy’/>
a jaw-dropping performance that included his trademark backflip.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1628″ width=”2400″ loading=’lazy’/>
made history as the first American woman to earn an Olympic medal in curling.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1576″ width=”2400″ loading=’lazy’/>
cross-country sprint classic on February 10.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1334″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
were killed in a midair plane crash last winter.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2271″ width=”2956″ loading=’lazy’/>
Swedish sweep of medals in the event.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2679″ width=”3975″ loading=’lazy’/>
winning gold in the big air final on Monday, February 9.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2850″ width=”4276″ loading=’lazy’/>
winning the 1,000 meters with an Olympic record time on February 9. She finished in 1:12.31, breaking the record that her Dutch teammate Femke Kok set just minutes earlier.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2577″ width=”3865″ loading=’lazy’/>
the mixed doubles semifinals.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3194″ width=”4792″ loading=’lazy’/>
his helmet adorned with images of Ukrainian athletes killed in Russian attacks. He was disqualified days later.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2596″ width=”3895″ loading=’lazy’/>
together they won the gold.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1321″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
She won gold in the event for the second straight Olympics.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3729″ width=”5414″ loading=’lazy’/>
He went on win the event.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2316″ width=”3474″ loading=’lazy’/>
Vonn fractured her left leg in the crash, which came just a little more than a week after she tore the ACL in that same leg.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”990″ width=”1485″ loading=’lazy’/>
winning gold in the women’s downhill on February 8.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3656″ width=”5484″ loading=’lazy’/>
winning gold together on February 8. From left are Evan Bates, Madison Chock, Danny O’Shea, Ellie Kam, Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn and Ilia Malinin.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1600″ width=”2400″ loading=’lazy’/>
Malinin’s high score at the end of the event secured the gold for Team USA.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3647″ width=”5131″ loading=’lazy’/>
celebrates with his shirt off after winning the parallel giant slalom on February 8. He said it was a tribute to his hero, skiing legend Hermann Maier. Maier would often celebrate his victories by ripping off his top.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”4316″ width=”6603″ loading=’lazy’/>
France went on to win the gold in the event.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1681″ width=”2522″ loading=’lazy’/>
the demonstration turned violent as some protesters targeted police and their vans, and officials responded with tear gas and water cannons.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2016″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
Lollobrigida finished with an Olympic record time of 3:54.28.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
the 10km + 10km skiathlon on February 7.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2114″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
See more photos from the opening ceremony.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”3601″ width=”5401″ loading=’lazy’/>
Her medley, in both Italian and English, included the Italian song “Valore” and her song “Nothing Is Impossible.”” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”5099″ width=”7649″ loading=’lazy’/>
The best photos of the 2026 Winter Olympics
Lest anyone be snookered, theirs is not some Hallmark version of motherhood. It’s real and it’s messy. Needing to prep for her race, Humphries spent her first night away from Aulden this week. It was necessary and awful all at once.
“Mom guilt is a thing,” she said.
“But I needed to do it in order to be my best.”
There is a beautiful serendipity in the fact that Meyers Taylor finally got the gold she’d been dreaming of since college at a time in her life when it mattered the least.
“It means everything and nothing” has been her mantra as these Games approached, a full pivot since her college years, when the one-time softball all-American at George Washington wanted only to play the sport for Team USA.
She maybe even wanted it too much; a tryout went about as bad as it could, Meyers Taylor’s want turning her into an error-prone pile of nerves. She pivoted to bobsled after her parents saw it on TV and, approaching it with the casualness of a newbie, found the Olympic quest she long sought. By 2010, she was winning silver in the two-woman, the start of a run of a five-for-five medal-to-Games ratio.
But the gold medal dangled just out of reach and, while it didn’t define her, she rightly wanted it. And then Nico arrived in 2020 and Noah in 2023.
Both boys are deaf and Noah also has Down’s syndrome. They require therapy and special care and Meyers Taylor delegates none of it. With the support of her husband Nic, a retired bobsledder, she kept going in her career, but there were plenty of days where bobsledding felt more like an afterthought.
Oddly, she didn’t care. Instead, she found peace in the chaos, recognizing that no medal – gold, silver or bronze – would define her.
“One of the things my husband said to me before this race was, ‘We’re not going to let two curves stop us,’” she said. “We’ve been through too much as a family.”
At 41, she also knew the endgame was in sight and when she suffered a horrible crash in January, just three weeks before the Games, she thought surely this wasn’t her time. Instead, Meyers Taylor and Humphries both dropped track record times in the third heat, putting the pressure on Nolte who led .15 after the third heat.
Since the leaders go in reverse order, Humphries stacked up before Meyers Taylor who then gave way to Nolte. The difference between the three is about as narrow as a sliver of snow – a combined time of 3:57.93 for Meyers Taylor, 3:57.97 for Nolte and 3:58.05 for Humphries.
As her boys crashed around her, Meyers Taylor signed to them. She had taught them “bobsled race” earlier.
“I also taught them gold medal,” she said.