American Veteran Elana Meyers Taylor Claims Monobob Gold in Olympic Upset
In a thrilling display of skill and determination, veteran American bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor has clinched her maiden Olympic gold medal in the women’s monobob at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. The 41-year-old, a celebrated figure in the sport, achieved this career-defining victory in her fifth Olympic appearance, overcoming a field of strong contenders.
Meyers Taylor, already a decorated Olympian with two silvers and three bronze medals to her name, was considered an outside chance for gold heading into the competition. However, she delivered two exceptional runs on the second day of racing. Her third run, a blistering 59.08, equalled the track record and set a formidable benchmark for her rivals. She followed this with a 59.51 in her final run, putting immense pressure on the pre-race favourite, Germany’s Laura Nolte.
Nolte, who had started her final run with a 0.15-second advantage over Meyers Taylor, faltered with a mistake on an early turn. This cost her valuable speed, and despite a strong effort in the latter half of the course, her time of 59.70 was not enough, ultimately securing her the silver medal by a mere 0.04 seconds.
American Dominance on the Podium
The American dominance continued with Kaillie Humphries securing the bronze medal. Also in her forties, Humphries finished just 0.08 seconds behind Nolte, rounding out an experienced and formidable podium.
Australian Hopes Fall Short
For Australian bobsleigh star Bree Walker, the competition ended with disappointment. Despite a significantly improved performance on the second day, Walker was unable to climb the standings, finishing in eighth place overall, a substantial 1.56 seconds behind the gold medallist.
Walker’s Olympic campaign was hampered by her opening run, a 1:00.19 that placed her in 11th position and effectively ended her medal aspirations early. Her second run also failed to break the one-minute mark, a threshold that the top four competitors had surpassed in both of their opening runs.
While her times of 59.60 and 59.69 on day two offered a glimmer of hope as other competitors completed their final runs, it became clear that her initial struggles would prove too costly.
Walker’s Heartbreak and Resilience
Speaking after the medal ceremony, Walker expressed her deep disappointment. “I’m obviously a bit heartbroken from the race I’ve had here,” she admitted. “If I’m being honest, I’ve struggled here the whole time. Training was really tough, and I had some really wild runs, to the point where I actually bent my axle and we had to fix that a few days before the race, so that shook me a little bit. But, you know what, I wanted to go out there and just give it a good hard crack.”
Walker reflected on her career aspirations, stating, “It’s always what I wanted to do throughout my whole career, so yeah, I’m really proud to have stood to the line and just tried my very best.”
Despite the monobob disappointment, Walker is looking to salvage her Olympic campaign in the upcoming two-woman bobsleigh event, scheduled to commence on Saturday. She will be partnering with Kiara Reddingius, while Sarah Blizzard and Desi Johnson will form the second Australian sled.
Brendan Corey’s Olympic Journey Concludes
Hours before Walker’s final monobob runs, the Olympic campaign of Australian short track speed skater Brendan Corey also came to an end. The Canadian-born athlete was eliminated in the heats of the 500m event, a discipline considered his least favoured.
Corey’s best performance at the Games was a semi-final appearance in the 1500m, where he finished fifth and narrowly missed out on a chance to compete for a medal.
“I mean, I didn’t have any super results, but that’s alright,” Corey commented. “I gave it my all in the races, and now I need to focus for the world championships in about three weeks.”
He explained his strategy for the high-paced 500m event, which involved an aggressive start to leverage his endurance. While he managed to gain an early lead, a slight bump on the first corner proved costly at such high speeds, making it impossible to close the gap. “Yeah, I surprised myself there,” he said. “I gave it everything I had off the start. It was a good straight, and then on the corner a little bump, and then at those speeds, it’s so hard to close the gap.”
