As we watch the Olympics, we always hope for the feel good story, the story of an athlete who overcomes personal challenges to achieve greatness. We don’t just want to watch great athleticism; we want to see a great person. All too often, however, our athletes are just everyday people who stumble and fall like the rest of us. Our professional athletes, arguably influence by money and power, don’t just stumble and fall but burn and crash (when not raping and pillaging the villages of we little people). In essence, we put unfair expectations upon athletes who just want to play a sport they love. Then, comes along that one athlete who inspires and shines and makes us hope and believe all over again.
Her name is Elana Meyers.
Humble, dedicated, and driven, she also uses self-deprecating humor to endear people to her, including fellow competitors. Easily one of the most likeable women on the circuit, Myers only came to bobsledding by luck. She began playing softball at age nine and had visions of being an Olympian. She continued to play through college as a shortstop and pitcher where she was named to the ECAC Division I All-Star team in 2007 just after earning her bachelor of science degree in exercise science at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Then, she went on to have what she calls the worst try-out in the history of try-outs for the U.S. national softball team and briefly played professional softball when she received devastating news. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that softball would no longer be an Olympic sport, “and I thought it was over.” The dream was over. But quitting is not part of who Meyers is so just as fleeting as the “it’s all over” thought was her decision to simply pick up a new sport. She emailed different national governing sports federations and when the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation (USBSF) responded, “the rest is history and here I am.”
One of the most common traits among Olympians, no matter the sport, is the ability to make fast adjustments, adapt quickly, and move on. Meyers serves as the perfect example. She went from a warm, relatively slow moving sport to frigid, unforgiving temperatures where speed is the name of the game. In 2008, she won her first World Cup, a bronze with teammate/driver Shauna Rohbock, a gold at the inaugural World Cup in Whistler, Canada and won a bronze at her first Olympic Games in Vancouver with driver Erin Pac.
Another common trait among Olympians, however, is the inability to settle. With the title ‘Olympian’ checked off her list, Meyers moved from brakewoman to driver for the US team while earning her Masters in Sports Management from GWU and was selected by coaching staff and fellow teammates to serve as an Athletic Director on the USBSF Board of Directors.
A heavy favorite in these Sochi Games, Meyers avoided much of the drama that surrounded the women’s bobsled team and the selection of track athlete Lolo Jones, some in-house complaints, and jockeying for positions on teams I, II and III. Warm, engaging, polite, and professional to the end, Meyers stayed the course and was named as pilot to team USA I with teammate/brakewoman Lauryn Williams. No matter the outcome, she has far exceeded whatever dreams she had as a child but she is far, far from done. Once again, Meyers in back in school. This time she is earning her second masters at DeVry University in Business Administration with every bit the intention to become the CEO of the United States Olympic Committee.
To read the full article written by Alexandra Allred, please click here.
