Elana Meyers Taylor: A 20-year journey to gold
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 29 March 2026
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Elana Meyers Taylor became the oldest-ever winner of an individual Winter Olympic gold medal when she won the women’s monobob event in Milan-Cortina, aged 41. It was the American’s sixth Olympic medal, and first gold, having first won a bronze medal in 2010 at the Vancouver Games. She’s the most-decorated black athlete in Winter Olympic history, as well as the mother of two sons – both of whom are deaf. Her eldest son, Nico, also has Down syndrome.
In an in-depth interview with More than the Score’s Lee James, Elana discusses her 20-year journey to Olympic gold, and why it’s taken a whole team of people to get there – including receiving invaluable support from the deaf and Down syndrome community. She also discusses her activism for black athletes in winter sports, and reflects on the effect that climate change is already having on her sport. How does she see the future of bobsleigh racing, and what part will she play in it?
Every Monday to Friday, More than the Score tells stories beyond the scoresheet from all over the world of sport. From the Winter Olympics to the Super Bowl, the Australian Open to the Diamond League, and netball to Formula 1. For more episodes, follow and subscribe to More than the Score wherever you get your podcasts.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.7 | Hello, I'm Lee James, and you're listening to the documentary podcasts from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:11.3 | Today I'm bringing you a bonus episode of More Than the Score, the podcast that scours the globe to tell sports stories from beyond the score sheet. |
| 0:19.6 | Earlier this year, Alana Myers-Taylor became the oldest ever winner of an individual |
| 0:23.8 | Winter Olympic gold medal. |
| 0:25.8 | The 41-year-old American triumphed in the women's monobobob, a single-person bobslay event, |
| 0:31.4 | at her fifth Olympic Games, having never previously reached the top step of the podium. |
| 0:36.5 | She's also the most decorated black athlete in the history of the Winter Games, winning six medals across her career. |
| 0:43.3 | But she's more than just an outstanding athlete. |
| 0:45.8 | She's a mother of two sons, both of whom are deaf. |
| 0:48.7 | Her eldest son, five-year-old Nico, also has Down syndrome. |
| 0:52.9 | One of the most emotional images of the games saw |
| 0:55.7 | her celebrate with her sons at the finishing line, using sign language to explain what had just |
| 1:00.9 | happened. She has also been an outspoken advocate for black athletes, women and mothers in |
| 1:06.1 | winter sport throughout her career. I spoke to Alana for more than the score earlier this month, |
| 1:11.8 | about her 20-year journey to Olympic gold, and started by asking her whether her achievement |
| 1:17.0 | had sunk in yet. No. I had this conversation with my husband the other day. Like, it still feels |
| 1:24.7 | like I'm in some kind of fever dream or something. Like, it still doesn't |
| 1:28.1 | make sense that this actually happened. And everything that's happened since even makes less |
| 1:32.6 | sense. So, you know, we've been on quite a little bit of a tour going around and sharing my |
| 1:38.2 | story and sharing the medal and everything like that. And yeah, everything that happens makes even |
| 1:42.2 | less sense now. So you're showing your medal. Let me ask you, first of all, it's round your neck right now. What does that mean when you look at that Olympic gold medal? Oh my gosh. It means so, like it stands for so much hard work, but not just by me, but by my family, by my kids, by my nanny, by my friends, |
... |
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