Two U.S. moms in their 40s rocketed to gold and bronze in Olympic bobsled showdown

Special Series 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics Two U.S. moms in their 40s rocketed to gold and bronze in Olympic bobsled showdown February 16, 20264:28 PM ET Brian Mann United States' gold medalist Elana Meyers Taylor celebrates at the finish after the women's monobob competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. Aijaz Rahi/AP hide caption CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — In a nail-biting, four-heat race that boiled down to a contest against a pair of top German sliders, Americans Elana Meyers Taylor, 41, and Kaillie Humphreys, 40, secured gold and bronze medals Monday night on the icy track in Cortina. Meyers Taylor came from behind in the fourth and final heat, gliding and banking cleanly into the steep curves and dropping smoothly into the track's straight-aways to win her first career gold. "I'm super excited to finally have a gold medal and to have worked so hard all these years," Meyers Taylor said. "I was super grateful to be able to put the pieces together and finally have a run that I could walk away very proud with." 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics One Olympic sport doesn't allow women. These Games could determine its future With this win, Meyers Taylor, who has two sons, built on her record as the Black athlete with the most Olympic medals in Winter Games history, with a gold, three silver and two bronze. German Laura Nolte, age 27, took silver. Humphries, who gave birth to her son in 2024, now has 3 Olympic gold medals and 2 bronze. "I'm so proud to be able to represent the United and put my best foot forward. That's what we did today," Humphries said. United States' Kaillie Humphries slides down the track during a women's monobob run at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. Alessandra Tarantino/AP hide caption This is the pair's second Olympics in a row to find their way to the podium in the single-person "monobob" race, in which a single athlete pushes and then steers the bobsled down the track. At the 2022 Beijing Games, Humphries won gold in the event. Meyers Taylor tested positive for and was forced to train while isolated in her hotel room. She was cleared just in time to silver. The two women are also widely credited with helping convince the International Olympic Committee to add the women's monobob event to the Winter Games, bringing the sport into parity with men's events. 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics Watch: Olympic curling cheating scandal explained. The concussion risk in sliding sports "The women before me have allowed this to happen and I want to make sure that continues for all future generations," Humphries said after her 2022 win. Both women have spoken publicly about the challenges they've faced building careers as elite athletes while also parenting. Humphries was diagnosed with endometriosis and underwent IVF treatments before her child was born. "I got back in the bobsled 4 1/2 months postpartum, so it wasn't the ideal timeline," Humphries said before the games. "I'm not a spring chicken anymore." "It's been quite a bit on my body," said Meyers Taylor, citing years of breastfeeding, lack of sleep, back pain, and getting older. "But I wouldn't trade it for the world." Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor