Elana Meyers Taylor: 41-year-old makes history with dramatic Olympic gold comeback

Elana Meyers Taylor delivered a dramatic final run to claim her first Olympic gold medal in the women’s monobob at the Milan Cortina Winter Games, becoming the oldest Winter Olympian to win an individual gold at 41.

The American bobsledder surged from silver position heading into the final run on Monday to finish with a combined time of 3:57.93 across four heats, edging Germany’s Laura Nolte by just 0.04 seconds.

U.S. teammate Kaillie Humphries secured bronze.

The victory marks Meyers Taylor’s sixth Winter Olympic medal, tying speedskater Bonnie Blair for the most by a U.S. woman in Winter Games history.

Late drama seals gold

Meyers Taylor entered the final heat knowing she needed a near-flawless run to surpass Humphries, who had already secured a podium place.

She delivered.

Her clean final sled placed immediate pressure on Nolte, who had led through the first three runs. When Nolte crossed the line in 3:57.97, 0.04 seconds behind Meyers Taylor, gold was confirmed for the American.

Clutching a U.S. flag, Meyers Taylor celebrated with her two young sons before embracing Humphries.

‘Money under pressure’

The gold medal comes in Meyers Taylor’s fifth Olympic appearance and follows a decorated career that had, until now, lacked a top podium finish.

She previously won two silver medals and two bronze medals in two-woman bobsled across Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014, Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022. She also claimed silver in monobob in Beijing.

“My nickname for people who know me most is E-Money,” Meyers Taylor told NBC News before the competition. “I’m money under pressure.”

On Monday, she delivered on that reputation.

Her victory also breaks a record set only days earlier by Austrian snowboarder Benjamin Karl, making her the oldest Winter Olympian to win gold in an individual event.

USA dominance continues in monobob

Through two Olympic Games since the event debuted in Beijing in 2022, Team USA has now won four of the six monobob medals awarded.

Humphries captured gold in Beijing, where Meyers Taylor took silver.

Monobob features a single driver in a lighter sled and is a women’s-only Olympic event. It brings the total number of Olympic bobsled events to four, with women competing in monobob and two-woman bobsled, and men in two-man and four-man events.

For Meyers Taylor, the breakthrough gold completes a medal set that had narrowly eluded her for more than a decade.

After years of near misses, she finally stands atop the podium.