Feb 17, 2026
3 min read
Elana Meyers Taylor and Kaillie Armbruster Humphries stood on the Olympic podium with their gold and bronze medals, surrounded by children.
Inspire bobsled queens with medals on the track, mom
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy - Elana Meyers Taylor's boys are too young to realize that mom is an Olympic champion.Son Kaillie Armbruster Humphries wanted to play in the snow around the medal podium where his mother stood.
But any woman who's ever tried to juggle motherhood and a career and felt like she was giving it everything she has and still has little will know this.And Meyers Taylor and Armbruster Humphreys hope to see a little of themselves in the two women on that Olympic podium.
"I hope it shows that being a mother doesn't mean you have to stop living your dreams," said Meyers Taylor, who finally won her long-sought Olympic gold medal on Monday, February 16, when she won the monobob, finishing ahead of Germany's Laura Nolte and Armbruster Humphries.
The standards for any woman are impossible.Add a family, by any means, and it becomes exponentially more difficult.Throw in aging, in a society that considers women over the hill before they can run for president, and you might as well climb the mountain that houses the Milano Cortina bobsleigh track.
Meyers Taylor and Armbruster Humphreys felt it.I felt it all.
Two nights ago, Armbruster Humphreys was alone for the first time since the birth of his son, and it was heartbreaking.She knew she needed a break, she's competing in the Olympics and she still couldn't do it when the baby woke up in the middle of the night.
It doesn't make it any easier.
"My husband is here, my parents are here, my in-laws are here. So I knew she was in pretty good hands," Armbruster Humphries said."So for me, the divide may be more than anything. I accept the mother's guilt and it's there, but I had to do it to be the best."
Meyers Taylor and Armbruster Humphries are the first to admit that they don't do it alone.They both have husbands who support them and, as former bobsledders, understand the grin.There are families who participate.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee provides financial and other resources for mother athletes, which is not something many women can say.
But no one else can silence the head of any working mother.No one else can weigh the conflicting options and decide which sacrifices are acceptable.No one else can tell them it's okay when priorities change or allow them to put themselves first.
"This medal is for all the mothers who couldn't live their dreams, but now their children are their dreams," Meyers Taylor said.
Meyers Taylor and Armbruster Humphreys stood on the medal stand with their young sons and hoped to inspire other mothers.
It doesn't matter if they're chasing Olympic medals or just trying to get through the day.These two badass women understand the winners and empathize with them because they face them too.
"I hope this inspires others to go out and chase their dreams, no matter what," Armbruster Humphreys said.
"It might feel different when you're 20, but that doesn't mean you can't stand on the podium. It doesn't mean you can't go out there and follow your dreams."
It's not an easy, playful activity.But for those who do it, the Olympic medal around the neck of Meyers Taylor and Armbruster Humphries is for you too.
Follow USA TODAY Sports Writer Nancy Armor on social media at @nrarmour.
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