Sports

GA Olympian Meyers Taylor Becomes Most Decorated U.S. Bobsledder

Bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor of Douglasville, who won bronze Saturday, will also carry the U.S. flag at Sunday's closing ceremonies.

Elana Meyers Taylor and Sylvia Hoffman celebrate after the women's bobsleigh heat 4 at the 2022 Winter Olympics. The pair took bronze in Saturday's event.
Elana Meyers Taylor and Sylvia Hoffman celebrate after the women's bobsleigh heat 4 at the 2022 Winter Olympics. The pair took bronze in Saturday's event. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

BEIJING — A day before the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing close, Georgia bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor won bronze in Saturday's two-woman event — her fifth medal overall, making her the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian.

The 37-year-old pilot from Douglasville, who paired with brakewoman Sylvia Hoffman, also is the first U.S. Winter Olympian to enter five events and win a medal in all of them, the Los Angeles Times reported. Meyers Taylor took two-woman silver in Pyeongchang and Sochi and bronze in Vancouver.

Germany won gold and silver in Saturday's event as 23-year-old Laura Nolte dominated the field.

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Nolte, who won the women’s monobob in the 2016 Youth Olympic Games, recorded a four-heat time of 4:03.96 to unseat defending Olympic gold medalist Mariama Jamanka, who totaled a time of 4:04.73, The Times reported.


RELATED: GA Olympian Meyers Taylor Wins Silver Medal In Women's Monobob

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GA Olympian Elana Meyers Taylor Cleared To Compete After COVID


On the heels of her successful run in Beijing, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced Friday night that Meyers-Taylor will carry the American flag into Sunday night’s closing ceremony of the Beijing Games.

The announcement was synched to Meyers Taylor’s first run in the women’s bobsled event. As soon as she crossed the line in the first heat, the USOPC revealed that she was the flagbearer pick.

Meyers Taylor was chosen to be one of the flagbearers for the U.S. at the opening ceremony on Feb. 4 but could not participate because she was in isolation following a positive COVID-19 test. That spot went to speedskater Brittany Bowe instead, who led the U.S. delegation into the opening alongside curler John Shuster.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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