How Title IX paved the way to an Olympic dream for Elana Meyers Taylor

When Elana Meyers Taylor started softball at age 9, she set a goal of reaching the Olympics. Two years later, the Georgia native watched her idols Dot Richardson and Lisa Fernandez win gold for Team USA in softball's Olympic debut in the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

Fourteen years after that, Meyers Taylor competed in her first Olympics, but on an ice track rather than a softball diamond. Softball was the gateway to her Olympic dream, but that dream was realized through the sport of bobsled.

The journey of this multifaceted athlete would not have been possible without opportunities provided through Title IX legislation and the collegiate model in the United States. In 2003, more than 30 years after Title IX was signed into law, Meyers Taylor became George Washington's first-ever softball recruit. She took the offer from the Colonials for a chance to pursue her degree while helping build a program from scratch.

"When I set out to go to GW and when I knew I would be part of the softball program, one of the things that appealed to me is I would have the opportunity to start a legacy and start something fresh," Meyers Taylor said. "GW had added the softball program because of Title IX. They knew they needed to offer more female scholarships, and it wasn't a school I could have afforded outside of a softball scholarship. It was a really great opportunity."

From the first pitch, the 17-year-old freshman team captain began etching her name into the Colonials' record books. She tossed the first game in program history, scored the Colonials' first run and earned George Washington's first win. A pitcher and shortstop, she started the program's first 192 games over five seasons and was named team MVP every year. In 2007, Meyers Taylor graduated as the all-time record holder in nearly every offensive category. Today, "Elana Meyers" is listed 90 times in the school's softball digital archives. 

Meyers Taylor never intended to leave the sport, either. 

She initially intended to coach softball, accumulating two appropriate degrees (an undergraduate degree in exercise science and a graduate degree in sports management) to help prepare her. Her success-filled college career, however, opened her mind to continue competing. This led to playing professional softball for a year before working toward a tryout for the 2008 U.S. Olympic team in softball. 

When she didn't make the team, the former college softball star needed a new sport to fulfill her childhood Olympic dream. At the suggestion of her parents, she tried bobsled.

The Winter Games are home to more talent transfer athletes than the Summer Games, where Meyers Taylor originally set her sights. Of the 206 current and former NCAA athletes who competed in the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, 84 competed in a collegiate sport that differed from their Olympic one. 

"Just having the access to collegiate sports is huge for Olympic sports," Meyers Taylor said. "Having that ground to not only learn your sport, but to grow as a person. Whenever Team USA bobsled gets collegiate athletes coming from other sports, that understanding of what it takes to train, what it takes to multitask, to have other things going on and not be all about your sport is huge."

The four-time Olympian and dual-degree graduate returned to her alma mater as the 2022 commencement speaker in May, the first George Washington softball alum to receive the honor. She shared her inspiring story with the class of 2022 in her keynote address.

"For me, I always knew that sport wasn't the end game," Meyers Taylor said. "I loved sports and wanted to play for the rest of my life. As far as making a living and a career, it was never going to be the endgame, so I needed to have a backup. It's important to have an education."

Meyers Taylor understood Title IX's impact at an early age. Whether she was playing kickball or tag with the neighbor kids or watching her father, Eddie Taylor, go to and come from practice with the Atlanta Falcons, she was surrounded by sports. Her mother, Janet, also was an athlete, but she had far fewer opportunities than her father, who was a running back for the U.S. Naval Academy.

"My mom grew up very athletic," Meyers Taylor said. "She might be more athletic than my dad but was limited to few opportunities because she was pre-Title IX. She played softball because it was a 'girls sport' and had the option to be a cheerleader. And that was it." 

Even after Title IX, Meyers Taylor has experienced inequities in the sport that made her an Olympian. In 2014, Meyers Taylor and her bobsled teammate Kaillie Humphries made history when they competed against men in the World Cup tour. In 2022, the sport of women's monobob made its debut on the Olympic stage in part due to the efforts of Meyers Taylor and other female athletes fighting for equality. 

The five-time Olympic medalist was the first woman to earn a spot on the U.S. National Team competing with the men as a four-man bobsled pilot. Meyers Taylor was the first woman to win a medal in international competition in a men's event.

"Title IX means so much to me because it's the basis of allowing women to have an equal education, to have equal opportunities and for me as an athlete, I've always appreciated it from an athletic side of things," Meyers Taylor said. "I've always known about it and been taught that it's a very important piece of legislation, so I can't say enough of how it's impacted my life."

Meyers Taylor said the type of leader she is now is rooted in her experiences at George Washington. She has been a proponent for athlete advocacy for many years, and her fellow Team USA members have recognized her efforts. Meyers Taylor was chosen by her peers to carry the flag at the closing ceremonies for the 2022 Olympics and most recently was named to the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee board of directors, elected by the USOPC Athletes' Advisory Council to serve as an athlete representative. 

"I often reflect on my collegiate softball career because I would not be the athlete I am, the person I am, or the leader I am without my experience at GW," Meyers Taylor said.