GA Olympian Elana Meyers Taylor Cleared To Compete After COVID

Douglasville GA

07 February, 2022

4:11 PM

Description

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — Olympic bobsledder and Douglasville native Elana Meyers Taylor is cleared to compete in the 2022 Winter Olympics after initially testing positive for COVID-19 last weekend. The four-time Olympian — who has won two silver medals and one bronze medal in previous games — tested positive for the coronavirus Jan. 29, just two days after arriving in Beijing. She was asymptomatic and isolated at a hotel. On Friday, the Team USA athlete, 37, told "The Today Show" that she was finishing up her stay at the hotel after testing negative for COVID-19 twice. She'll now move to another hotel to continue training — which she never stopped, even in isolation. Read more: Meyers Taylor Tests Positive For COVID, Still Trains At Olympics She was isolating away from the rest of Team USA, as well as her husband, Nic Taylor — an alternate on the men's bobsled team — and their son, Nico, who turns 2 later this month and traveled to Beijing with her under exceptions for breastfeeding moms, People Magazine reported. All three of them tested positive and had to isolate separately. Meyers Taylor said her teammates and coaches have been helping keep her in the loop and focused. "They've been sending me notes on the track and doing different things like that," she said. "I also have tons and tons of video from our coaches, who've just been doing everything they can to keep me engaged and keep me involved. So I've just been going over that as much as I can and watching video and doing whatever I can to stay ready." Meyers Taylor is still set to compete as a pilot in the two-woman bobsled, as well as the inaugural women's monobob event. Official training for women's monobob starts Thursday, and competitions begin Sunday. Training for the two-woman event starts Feb. 15, with competitions beginning Feb. 18. Last Wednesday, Meyers Taylor and curler John Shuster were chosen as flagbearers by a vote of fellow Team USA athletes for the opening ceremony on Friday. Three-time Olympian Brittany Bowe of Ocala, Florida, walked on behalf of Meyers Taylor. "Being voted by my peers as the flag bearer is the biggest honor of my career," Meyers Taylor said in a news release. "While I cannot carry the flag and walk in with the rest of Team USA, Brittany is very deserving of the opportunity to lead our delegation on my behalf. She is an incredible person with an exemplary character, and I'm excited to watch her and John lead Team USA at the Opening Ceremony. I'm honored to be a part of this team, and coming from a military family, it's really special to have been chosen to carry our flag." Despite testing positive for COVID-19 and being in isolation, Meyers Taylor didn't stop training. She posted videos on Twitter (@eamslider24) showing her jogging inside her hotel room, and she got a stationary bike in the room. Related: Winter Olympics: Douglasville Native Named To US Bobsled TeamFL Speedskater Brittany Bowe To Serve As Olympic Flag Bearer