Photo: Elana Meyers Taylor celebrates with her husband, Nic, and their son, Nico

WINTERBERG, Germany (December 11, 2021) – Elana Meyers Taylor (Douglasville, Ga.) extended her lead in women’s monobob points by winning today’s World Cup in Winterberg with record setting start and finish times. Elana has won three out of four races so far this season. Kaillie Humphries (Carlsbad, Calif.) couldn’t find speed today and finished 13th.

“It was a high pressure situation and Elana came through,” said USA Bobsled Head Coach Mike Kohn. “We get to hear the national anthem again tonight, and that never gets old.”

Meyers Taylor kicked things off by setting a new Winterberg start record of 5.78 seconds. The former start record of 5.83 seconds was set by German Lisa Buckwitz in a European Cup race just eight days ago. Meyers Taylor crossed the finish line in second position with a downtime of 58.95 seconds, just 0.06 seconds from Breeana Walker of Australia.

Walker set the track record of 59.52 seconds earlier this month in a European Cup race, and she broke it again in today’s opening heat with a run of 58.89 seconds.

Meyers Taylor matched her record setting start time of 5.79 seconds in the second heat, and raced to the finish line with a new track record time of 58.88 seconds. She surpassed Walker to win by 0.23 seconds with a combined time of 1:57.83.

“I might be the only one, but I love this track,” Meyers Taylor said. “I’m super excited to get this win. I went out and tried my best, and while there’s always something to improve, I feel really good about today.”

Meyers Taylor was joined by her husband, Nic Taylor, who is also a member of the national team, and their son, Nico, at the award ceremony. Nico reached out to admire his mom’s new trophy while on the medal stand together. 

“I want to show Nico that you can persevere through anything,” Meyers Taylor said. “It’s not about winning or losing, it’s about stepping to the start line and giving it everything I’ve got. If Nico knows nothing else about his mom, I want to know that I gave it everything I had any time I was on that line. I want him to go out there and chase any dream he has without fear.”

Walker took silver in 1:58.06. Canadian Synthia Appiah clocked the third fastest times of both heats to earn bronze with a total time of 1:58.24. 

Humphries pushed identical start times of 5.98 seconds for runs of 59.51 and 59.45 seconds. She couldn’t find speed in Winterberg today and finished 13th with a combined time of 1:58.96. 

The Winterberg World Cup resumes tomorrow with the two-woman bobsled competition at 9 a.m., followed by another four-man bobsled race at 1:30 p.m. Streaming will be available via desktop at olympics.com/en/live/, and via mobile, tablet and connected television platforms on the Olympic Channel app. Check local listings for broadcast times on the Olympic Channel and OlympicChannel.com.

For media inquiries, please contact USABS Marketing and Communications Director Amanda Bird at amanda.bird@usabs.com.

###

Results

1. Elana Meyers Taylor (USA) 1:57.83 (58.95, 58.88);

2. Breeana Walker (AUS) 1:58.06 (58.89, 59.17);

3. Cynthia Appiah (CAN) 1:58.24 (59.06, 59.18);

13. Kaillie Humphries (USA) 1:58.96 (59.51, 59.45);

About USA Bobsled/Skeleton

USA Bobsled/Skeleton (USABS), based in Lake Placid, N.Y., is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton in the United States. For more information, please visit the USABS website at www.usabs.com. Individuals interested in becoming a bobsled or skeleton athlete can visit www.usabobsledskeleton.com.