Elana Meyers Taylor
Olympic gold medalist Elana Meyers Taylor acquired two bonus world records when she won the bobsledding event at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, Italy. First, at the age of 41 she was the oldest person ever to win a Winter Olympics gold, and second, she his now the most decorated black athlete in the history of the games.
A wise switch
Elana was born in Oceanside, California. She was raised in a Christian household and attributes her upbringing to much of her positive attitude which has helped enormously in her sporting career. She won a scholarship to attend The George Washington University. The scholarship was for softball and the university later awarded her an honorary doctorate.
But Elana’s father was a professional football player who saw her athletic potential, and he did not see it in Softball. He encouraged her to try for the Olympic bobsled team. She won a place in the team and, as the saying goes, the rest is history!
Humility
Ask an Olympic medalist about their greatest achievement and most would say “to be called an Olympian.” But for Elana, her greatest achievement is somewhat different. She has consistently emphasized that both her faith in Jesus Christ and her family come before medals. She said,
“God put me here for a specific reason and I don’t think it’s just to win medals. At the end of the day, I’m in this sport to glorify God – so if that means I come in last place or I win the gold medal, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Health challenges
Elana is married to her coach and fellow Olympic bobsledder Nic Taylor. Their two sons were both born with challenging health conditions. Returning to compete in the Olympic Games as a mother of special needs children was not an easy decision, but she is confident this will inspire others by showing both the challenges and the joy of their journey.
Overcoming adversity
Nic and Elana’s son Nico was born in 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was starting. He was born with Down syndrome. Noah, their second son, was born in 2022. Both children are deaf. Elana sees God at work in the whole of life, believing that he is both the God of the good times and our constant helper through difficult times. She sees God at work honing us and guiding us throughout our lives adding,
“I work every day to live a life that is Christlike.”
Backing up Elana’s philosophy of life, her fellow Christian athlete Jadin O’Brien said,
“Handing all those worries and anxieties over to God and tackling one thing at a time helps you accomplish incredible things.”
