Elana Meyers Taylor piloted the U.S. two-woman bobsled to a bronze medal on Saturday at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, making history at the same time.
The medal was the fifth in the long career of Meyers Taylor, who teamed with brakewoman Sylvia Hoffman in Beijing as they finished behind a pair of German sleds. Meyers Taylor became the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympics history, surpassing speedskater Shani Davis, and she also has the most medals of any American bobsledder and any female bobsledder.
At 37, she also is the oldest American woman to medal in the Winter Olympics.
A four-time Olympian, Meyers Taylor won the silver medal in the first-ever Olympic monobob competition on Monday. She won silver medals at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018 and at Sochi in 2014, adding to the bronze medal she earned at Vancouver in 2010.
Meyers Taylor was selected by Team USA to carry the American flag in Sunday’s closing ceremony in Beijing. Her teammates chose her to do the honors in the opening ceremony, but she was unable to because she tested positive for COVID-19.
In other Olympics action on Saturday, Americans David Wise and Alex Ferreira claimed the silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the men’s freeski halfpipe. The gold medal went to Nico Porteous of New Zealand.
Slovakia claimed the bronze medal in men’s hockey with a 4-0 win over Sweden.
Five medal events are scheduled on Sunday, the final day of competition, and Norway has locked up the most gold medals in Beijing.
The medals leaders:
Norway: 35 (15 gold, 8 silver, 12 bronze)
Russian Olympic Committee: 31 (6 gold, 11 silver, 14 bronze)
Canada: 25 (4 gold, 8 silver, 13 bronze)
Germany: 24 (11 gold, 8 silver, 5 bronze)
United States: 24 (8 gold, 9 silver, 7 bronze)
Sweden: 18 (8 gold, 5 silver, 5 bronze)
Netherlands: 17 (8 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze)
Austria: 17 (6 gold, 7 silver, 4 bronze)
Japan: 17 (3 gold, 5 silver, 9 bronze)
Italy: 17 (2 gold, 7 silver, 8 bronze)
–Field Level Media