Olympic Champion Elana Meyers Taylor on Winning a Gold Medal, Motherhood and the Power of a Village

The PedsDocTalk Podcast: Child Health, Development & Parenting—From a Pediatrician Mom

Dr. Mona Amin

Kids & Family, Parenting, Medicine, Health & Fitness

4.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2026

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What does it look like to balance Olympic competition, motherhood, and the unexpected realities of parenting? In this episode, I sit down with Olympic gold medalist Elana Meyers Taylor to talk about raising two children with disabilities, leaning on support, and how motherhood changed the way she thinks about success, identity, and resilience. We also talk about representation in sport, using ASL as a family, and the mental health side of chasing big goals. It is an honest conversation about what it takes to keep showing up as both an elite athlete and a mom. In this episode, we cover: What it felt like to finally win Olympic gold after years of coming close Why the right village matters in motherhood and elite sport Parenting two children with disabilities and using ASL as a family How representation can help other families feel less alone What sport taught her about parenting through uncertainty How motherhood changed her identity, perspective, and relationship to winning The realities of being a Black athlete in winter sports Why access and inclusion in sports still matter What she hopes her children take away from watching her story How she prepares for the post-Olympics emotional crash and protects her mental health To connect with Elana Meyers Taylor follow her on Instagram @elanameyerstaylor, check out all her resources at https://www.elanameyersusa.com. Purchase the shirt Dr. Mona is wearing here. 00:00 Intro: Elana Meyers Taylor on Gold, Motherhood, and Perspective 02:58 The Gold Medal Moment After a Fifth Olympics 07:50 Why Success in Motherhood Takes a Village 10:43 Building the Right Support System as a Mom and Athlete 14:13 Raising Deaf Children, Disability Advocacy, and Representation 18:09 How Sports Prepared Her for Medical Parenting 20:49 How Motherhood Changed Her Identity as an Athlete 24:38 Breaking Barriers in Winter Sports as a Black Olympian 29:17 What She Hopes Her Children Learn from Her Story 31:02 Finding Joy in Ordinary Mom Life After Olympic Gold Our podcasts are also now on YouTube. If you prefer a video podcast with closed captioning, check us out there and ⁠subscribe to PedsDocTalk⁠. Get trusted pediatric advice, relatable parenting insights, and evidence-based tips delivered straight to your inbox—join thousands of parents who rely on the PDT newsletter to stay informed, supported, and confident. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠! And don’t forget to follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠@pedsdoctalkpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram—our new space just for parents looking for real talk and real support. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on the ⁠PedsDocTalk Podcast Sponsorships⁠ page of the website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You know, it's funny is that moment still hasn't really said it.
0:03.0	Like, it still have to pinch myself and still have to, like, actually go look at the gold medal to know that it's real and that it actually happened. It still doesn't feel like it actually happened. Yeah. That's the thing is, like, to really be, like, at your best as a mother, it takes a village. takes a village for all of us, whether you're an Olympic athlete or whether you're a doctor or whether any, or whether even you're a single stay-at-home mom.
0:26.7	Like, even stay-at-home moms. Like, I lasted three weeks as a stay-at-home mom. It's like,
0:30.8	I'm going back to Bob's at this year.
0:41.3	Welcome back to the Pete's Doc Talk podcast. I'm going to the Pete's Talk podcast.
0:46.5	I'm your host, Dr. Mona, pediatrician, mom of two, and someone who loves conversations that remind us what strength and perspective really look like in real life and who better
0:51.4	than a world-class Olympian.
0:55.9	Have you ever watched someone achieve something incredible and thought, how do they do it all? How does someone compete at the highest level in the
1:00.1	world, stand on an Olympic podium, and also show up as a parent, including a parent raising two
1:05.6	children with disabilities? How does someone carry the weight of history, representation, advocacy,
1:10.5	and motherhood, and still push a bobsled down an Olympic track fast enough to win gold?
1:16.4	Today's guest is someone many of you watched make history this winter at the Milan Winter Olympics.
1:23.2	She is a gold medal Olympic champion in Monobob, a six-time Olympic medalist, and the most
1:29.2	decorated black Winter Olympian in history, a title she actually earned even before these
1:35.6	most recent games.
1:37.0	She's also a mental health advocate, a mom of two children with disabilities, and a disability
1:41.2	advocate helping shift how the world understands inclusion and
1:45.5	representation. And I have to say this part because I'm 40 and she's 41. Hello,
1:50.5	fellow elder millennial kicking butt. She is Alana Myers-Taylor and she's here on the show today.
1:57.0	I am just so honored. She joined me after she won. I honestly just took a shot. I emailed her,
2:02.8	sent a DM, and here we are making this happen when she's literally being driven to another event,
2:08.7	which honestly feels very on brand for someone living this kind of life post-Olympic win.
	...

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