41-year-old American bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor finally secured her first Olympic gold medal on Monday, winning the women's monobob at the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. This triumph, achieved on her fifth Olympic attempt, makes her the oldest individual champion in Winter Games history, surpassing Austrian snowboarder Benjamin Karl's record age of 40. Gold at Milan-Cortina adds to her impressive collection of three silvers and two bronzes earned across five previous Games, cementing her status as the most decorated female bobsleigh pilot ever.

The victory also marks a historic first: she became the first mother to win Olympic bobsleigh gold, a significant milestone celebrated alongside her two young children. Meyers Taylor's journey to this pinnacle is remarkable, spanning 16 years from her debut in Vancouver and tying speed skater Bonnie Blair's record for the most medals by an American woman at the Winter Olympics.