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Six-time Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor was honored in downtown New Braunfels on Saturday.
Thousands of people lined the streets to congratulate the hometown bobsledder who won Olympic gold in the monobob last month in Italy.
It was her fifth Olympics. The sixth gold medal means she is tied for the most medals by any U.S. woman in Winter Olympic history.
The 41-year-old Meyers Taylor finished with a combined time of 3 minutes, 57.93 seconds — just four-hundredths of a second ahead of Germany’s Laura Nolte, underscoring how close that competition was.
As the name suggests, the monobob is the individual version of bobsledding, where athletes push and pilot their sled alone.
“Today we gather to celebrate one of our very own. A hometown hero, whose determination, resilience, and heart have inspired our city and our nation,” said Mayor Neal Linnartz. “Elana Meyers Taylor is more than a champion athlete. She is a proud New Braunfels resident, a devoted wife and mother, and now a six-time Olympic medalist with Team USA.”
Meyers Taylor arrived in New Braunfels Main Plaza on a fire truck, with her husband and two sons.
“I’m so glad to bring this gold medal back to New Braunfels,” said Meyers Taylor. And from the bottom of my heart, and from my family as well, thank you all so much for all that you guys have done. ... I really appreciate the community support here, and that’s why I love living in New Braunfels.”
Monobob is a relatively new Olympic event, having first been introduced in the Winter Olympics in 2022 in Beijing, China.
Meyers Taylor said her Olympic journey has been quite storied, with ups and downs, "But it’s so awesome to be able to finally have the gold medal after more than 20 years of hard work and determination," she said.
"It took a lot of fight, a lot of battling through, overcoming obstacles," said Meyers Taylor, adding that this is what she wanted to show with her journey — "that whatever you’re facing today, you can overcome it."
