espnW Blog: Elana Meyers
Leon Neal/AFP/Getty ImagesLet me tell you, it is pretty cool to be in a training group with the athletes who'll be my biggest competition at the 2014 Sochi Games. I just wrapped up a great month in Scottsdale, Ariz., training alongside the reigning world-champion bobsled duo, Canadians Kaillie Humphries and Chelsea Valois.
Courtesy Elana MeyersIt’s official: The season is over. We wrapped up in mid-March with a pretty fun finale — a friendly co-ed national championship race where I teamed up with my fiance Nic Taylor as brakeman to race against Katie Eberling (my brakeman at the world championships this year) and Steve Holcomb, the No.
I’ve got some new hardware, and it’s not just the silver medal around my neck from last month’s world championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland. I’m engaged! It happened at the medal ceremony right after they finished playing Canada’s national anthem (Canadians Kaillie Humphries and Chelsea Valois took gold).
Christof Koepsel/Bongarts/Getty ImagesHappy New Year! We’re halfway through the season, closing in on the final three World Cup races and the world championships. I’ve got to say, this season has had its ups and downs for me. It was exciting to start things off with a bronze medal, racing with Tianna Madison at the World Cup in Lake Placid in November.
AP Photo/Mike GrollIf you haven't already heard, we have a few new additions to the USA national bobsled team -- and they came straight from the American track and field team. That's right, despite all the media criticism around track stars Lolo Jones, Tianna Madison and Hyleas Fountain joining in our team trials this year, Lolo and Tianna are officially on the roster as brakemen.
AP Photo/Michael LynchWe're up here in the middle of nowhere in Lake Placid, so we're often a bit removed from the media and news. But apparently the recent visit from a trio of U.S. Summer Olympians -- Lolo Jones (hurdles), Hyleas Fountain (heptathlon) and Tianna Madison (long jump and 100 meters) -- has come under fire for being a publicity stunt.
Courtesy of Elana MeyersHow does a girl from Georgia (average annual snowfall: 2 inches) grow up to be an Olympic bobsledder? Well, it all goes back to 1996, when the Summer Games were in my hometown of Atlanta. I was 11, and I got to go to the Olympic village and even hold the torch.