Winter Olympics live updates: Medal count and latest news

Elana Meyers Taylor of the United States became the most decorated black athlete in Winter Olympics history on Saturday when she won a bronze medal in the women’s doubles skating at the Beijing Olympics. .

The bronze medal was her fifth Olympic medal, one more than American speed skater Shani Davis has won in her Olympic career, and marked her fourth time on the podium. consecutively in the two women’s content.

“It was overwhelming,” said Meyers Taylor. “It’s crazy to hear that stat and know that I’m part of a larger legacy than I am.”

Meyers Taylor’s bronze joined her three previous medals in the event – silver in Pyeongchang in 2018 and Sochi in 2014, and bronze in Vancouver in 2010 – and the silver she won in the event. The monobob exam opened last week.

Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi of Germany won gold medals in the two-women event, with their fellow women Mariama Jamanka and Alexandra Burghardt right behind.

Heat 1	Heat 2	Heat 3	Heat 4	Time
	Germany	1: 01.04	1: 01.01	1: 00.70	1: 01.21	4: 03.96
	M. Jamanka / A. Burghardt Germany	1: 01.10	1: 01.45	1: 00.98	1: 01.20	4: 04.73
	E. Meyers Taylor / S. Hoffman USA	1: 01.26	1: 01.53	1: 01.13	1: 01.56	4: 05.48

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Germany’s victory was not a surprise: The nation has won eight of the nine gold medals awarded in the luge, skeleton, and toboggan, and 14 out of 27 skate medals overall. But not surprisingly Meyers Taylor’s presence among the leaders.

At 37 years old, she is one of the best-dressed women in snowmobile history. But she’s also the newest addition to Team USA’s Black women’s team, who have forged a successful legacy that spans two decades, and redefined what the Winter Olympic athlete looks like and where they can be found. Meyers Taylor, for example, attended college on a softball scholarship and dreamed of a career in the Summer Olympics.

Now, rather than being an outlier, she and her athletic past represent her team. Seven out of eight members of the present USA Women’s World Cup Cycling Team are black, as are four of the five women who competed in the Beijing Olympics. They include not only Meyers Taylor, who scouted the sport after watching Vonetta Flowers become the first black athlete to win a Winter Olympics gold medal in 2002, but also Meyers Taylor’s female brake. , Sylvia Hoffman, a former college basketball player who trained to be an Olympic Weightlifter.

“She’s the reason why I’m in video games,” Meyers Taylor said of Flowers in a pre-Olympic interview. “Looking at her and seeing someone like me, it shows it’s possible. Without her, there’s no way I’d think winter sports are for people who look like us.”

On Saturday, her own achievement is one she hopes will resonate.

“Hopefully it just encourages more and more Black athletes to participate in winter sports,” said Meyers Taylor, before adding that her message about inclusion and participation is not just aimed at Black athletes.

“We want people to appear regardless of your skin color,” she says. “We want winter sports to be open to everyone, regardless of race, regardless of socioeconomic class. I think the more diversity we have, the stronger our sport is. So hopefully this is just the beginning of more and more people coming and trying winter sports. ”

With two medals in her pocket, Meyers Taylor had one more mission at the Olympics: She was chosen as the USA flag bearer for the closing ceremony on Sunday. This is the second time she has received the honor of being awarded by her teammates in a month. When she was chosen to carry the flag at the opening ceremony, she had to decline: Meyers Taylor was tested positive for coronavirus just a few days after arriving in Beijing.

That night, she watched the ceremony from her room in an isolated hotel. On Sunday, she said, she’ll take a dip in the moment.

“It’s humbling and a huge honor, and I’m very excited about it,” Meyers Taylor said. “There are so many great athletes that they could have chosen, and the fact that they realized what it meant to be selected at the opening ceremony gave me the opportunity to walk after the finish. – I can’t even put it into words. that makes sense to me, and I can’t wait to step out onto the floor and experience it. “