Elana Meyers

Elana Meyers — Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Elana Meyers Taylor is one of America’s most decorated bobsledders, a record-setting Olympian, advocate, and mother. Discover her journey from softball to icy tracks, her standout achievements, enduring philosophy, and quotes that inspire.

Introduction

Elana Alessandra Meyers (now often known as Elana Meyers Taylor) is a name synonymous with excellence, resilience, and barrier-breaking in winter sports. Born October 10, 1984, she transformed her athletic trajectory from softball to the adrenaline-fueled world of bobsledding. Over the years she has become one of the most decorated American winter athletes, the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympic history, and a powerful voice for equality and athlete well-being. Her story is not just about medals and records—but about passion, perseverance, purpose, and legacy.

Early Life and Family

Elana Meyers was born in Oceanside, California on October 10, 1984. Douglasville, Georgia with her family. That heritage has shaped her view of duty, representation, and purpose both in sport and beyond.

In her early years, Elana played many sports—soccer, basketball, track, and eventually softball.

Youth and Education

Growing up in Georgia, Elana was inspired by the success of U.S. women’s softball. At about age 9 she began playing, setting a goal of one day becoming an Olympian. During her teenage years she excelled athletically, preparing the foundation for multi-sport capacity.

She earned a softball scholarship at George Washington University, majoring in Sport Physiology (B.S.) and later obtaining a master’s (M.T.A.) in 2011.

While pursuing her athletic dreams, she also embraced community, leadership, and advocacy roles that would later anchor her public life.

Career and Achievements

Transition to Bobsled

After missing a place on the U.S. Olympic softball team, Elana’s parents encouraged her to explore bobsledding.

Already in 2009 she earned a silver medal at the FIBT World Championships in the two-woman event (with Shauna Rohbock) as a brakeman.

Olympic and World Stage

Her Olympic debut came at Vancouver in 2010, where she and Erin Pac won the bronze medal in the two-woman bobsled event. silver in Sochi.

In 2018, she and Lauren Gibbs again won silver in PyeongChang. monobob event debuted at the Winter Olympics, and she claimed silver, while also winning bronze in the two-woman event.

With five Olympic medals over four Games, she became the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympics history.

In addition to her Olympic success, Elana has been a force at World Championships and World Cups. She has amassed nine World Championship medals and multiple overall World Cup titles.

Barrier-Breaking Moments & Challenges

In November 2014, she and Canada’s Kaillie Humphries became among the first women to compete in a four-man bobsled competition, breaking gender barriers in the sport.

She has confronted injuries and adversity—most notably concussions in 2014 that nearly derailed her career.

Elana has also been a vocal critic of discrimination and access in bobsledding. In 2020 she publicly detailed instances of racism and the exclusion of Black athletes from equipment access, prompting investigations and reform efforts.

Off the track, she served as president of the Women’s Sports Foundation and has used her platform to advocate for athlete wellness, equality, and inclusion.

Historical Milestones & Context

• Elana’s career spans a period when women’s bobsleigh evolved in both visibility and inclusivity (for example, the inclusion of the monobob).

• Her emergence as a Black woman in winter sports, and her subsequent success, challenged stereotypes and opened conversations about diversity in winter athletics.

• Her advocacy has intersected with broader movements for gender equity in sports, athlete mental health, and systemic racism in athletic systems.

• The period also saw innovations in bobsled technology, data-driven performance, and expanded media coverage of women’s winter sports—contexts in which Elana’s voice and successes have been particularly resonant.

Legacy and Influence

Elana Meyers’s legacy is multi-dimensional:

• Sporting Excellence: Her medal record, longevity, and barrier-breaking feats secure her as an icon in bobsled and winter sport more broadly.

• Role Model & Representation: She has inspired athletes—especially women and Black athletes—to believe that they belong in sports often perceived as exclusive or inaccessible.

• Advocacy & Systems Change: Through her leadership roles and outspoken stance, she continues to challenge the structures that disadvantage women, athletes of color, and those with limited resources.

• Holistic Athlete Vision: She frequently emphasizes that athletes are more than results—they deserve support in health, family, and life beyond sport.

• Motherhood & Influence: Her identity as a mother, especially of a son (Nico) born with Down syndrome, adds depth to her platform, focusing attention on family, purpose, and inclusion.

Her influence will extend beyond her competitive years, through mentorship, institutional work, and ongoing advocacy.

Personality and Talents

Elana is widely described as tenacious, humble, faith-driven, and compassionate. She often speaks about purpose, not just performance.

Her versatility across sports, her ability to adapt (softball ? bobsled), and her mental resilience—comebacks from injury, navigating discrimination, balancing motherhood—highlight her psychological strength as much as her physical talent.

Famous Quotes of Elana Meyers

Here are some of her memorable and motivational quotes:

• “Bobsled is best for athletes who are fast and strong, which were my strengths in softball.”

• “In Sochi, I felt like I lost a gold.”

• “Bobsledding is like sprinting with NASCAR. You get to push these 400-pound sleds as fast as you can down a hill and hop in. How could you not enjoy that?”

• “The more eyeballs there are on the sport, it will get more diverse.”

• “I’m E Money because I’m money when it counts.”

• “I know that God is working through me within this sport. I know He’s put me here for a purpose and it’s not just to win medals.”

• “Anything worth having is worth working for.”

• “When bobsled is going right—and it sometimes goes wrong—it’s the closest thing I could imagine to being a superhero.”

These quotes reflect her grit, faith, humility, and sense of mission.

Lessons from Elana Meyers

From Elana Meyers’s journey, we can draw several enduring lessons:

1. Embrace change and pivot when needed. She shifted from softball to bobsledding and carved out a new path.

2. Perseverance in adversity matters more than smooth success. Her struggles—injuries, discrimination, setbacks—did not define her; her response did.

3. Faith and purpose can guide elite performance. She anchors her achievements in service, identity, and belief, not just medals.

4. Representation is powerful. Her visibility invites others to see themselves in spaces they often were told they couldn’t belong to.

5. Athlete wellness is integral. Her advocacy reminds us that mental, physical, and relational health must accompany achievement.

6. Legacies go beyond personal glory. By lifting others and pushing systems toward equity, her impact continues beyond her own career.

Conclusion

Elana Meyers (Taylor) is more than one of America’s greatest winter athletes—she is a pioneer, advocate, role model, and woman of purpose. Her life weaves together struggle and triumph, faith and grit, medals and mission. Her legacy will echo in the athletes she inspires, the systems she reforms, and the values she upholds.

If you’d like to dive deeper into her race-by-race results, interviews, or future projects, I’d be happy to help explore further.