Taylor Wins First Olympic Gold at Fifth Games While Raising Two Children with Disabilities

Elana Meyers Taylor, a 41-year-old mother from the United States, finally claimed Olympic gold at her fifth Winter Games.

Taylor recorded 59.51 seconds in the fourth heat of the women's monobob event at the Cortina Sliding Centre in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, on Sunday. Her combined time of 3 minutes 57.93 seconds across four heats edged out Germany's Laura Nolte by 0.04 seconds, with Nolte finishing at 3:57.97.

Born in October 1984, Taylor has competed in every Winter Olympics since Vancouver 2010, collecting three silver medals and two bronze through the 2022 Beijing Games. This marks her first gold medal.

Taylor continued competing after giving birth to Nico, who is deaf, in 2020, and Noah, who has Down syndrome, in 2022. Before the Games, she said, "There is light at the end of the tunnel. I want to give hope to many parents raising children with disabilities."

Bronze medalist Kaylie Humphries of the United States, who finished in 3:58.05, is also a mother who returned to competition 18 months after giving birth. "After becoming a mom, I learned to do everything on just two hours of sleep," Humphries said ahead of the Games. "Becoming a mother means gaining new abilities."

South Korea's Kim Yu-ran finished 22nd. She recorded 1:00.51 in the third heat for a combined time of 3:02.37, failing to advance to the fourth heat reserved for the top 20 competitors.