2022 Winter Olympics: Elana Meyers Taylor makes history on Day 15
A host of U.S. competitors brought home medals at the 2022 Winter Games on Saturday.
The U.S. has been on a roll this week, as Alexander Hall and Nicholas Goepper came up with a dominant 1-2 finish in the men's slopestyle final on Day 12, the U.S. women's hockey team took home silver on Day 13 and both American figure skating pairs advanced in the short program on Day 14.
On Day 15, Elana Meyers Taylor continued her historic run during these games with another medal in two-woman bobsled, while Americans David Wise and Alex Ferreira collected silver and bronze in men's freestyle skiing.
As of Saturday afternoon ET, Norway leads all countries with 35 medals, followed by the Russian Olympic Committee with 31.
The U.S. is currently tied for fourth in total medals with 24 — eight gold, nine silver and seven bronze.
Here are some of the biggest moments and highlights from Day 15:
Elana Meyers Taylor and Sylvia Hoffman, bobsled
Elana Meyers Taylor has already shown she's an electric bobsledder, as evidenced by her silver medal win in the Olympics' first-ever monobob event.
On Saturday, Meyers Taylor flashed her speed in the two-woman event, finishing with a final time of 4:05:48 as she and teammate Sylvia Hoffman blitzed down the track during their four runs. They sat just seconds behind first place at 2:02:79 following their first two heats, and capped the day with a 1:01:13 (their fastest of the day), and 1:01:56, respectively.
For Meyers Taylor, she makes history with her fifth medal as the most decorated Black athlete in any single Winter Olympics.
"That is overwhelming," Meyers Taylor said regarding the record. "It's so crazy to hear that stat and know that I'm part of a legacy that's bigger than me."
She'll get one more chance to revel in the glory as the U.S.'s designated flag bearer for the closing ceremonies.
David Wise and Alex Ferreira, freestyle skiing
The U.S. was well-represented in men's freestyle skiing, as two skiers – Davis Wise and Alex Ferreira – finished in the men's halfpipe event's top three Saturday. Wise collected a silver medal for his efforts in the final, while Ferreira made off with the bronze.
Conditions were not ideal at Genting Snow Park, as wind swept through the competition site all day and temperatures dropped to -12 degrees.
Still, Wise and Ferreira accomplished what they set out to do despite the obstacles.
Both of their best scores came on their first runs. Wise was one of just two skiers to eclipse the 90 mark, netting a 90.75 on his first attempt, while Ferreira was close behind at 86.75.
Both men are no strangers to Olympic prestige. Wise won gold at Pyeongchang in 2018, while Ferreira scored the silver medal. Ironically, this year's winner, New Zealand's Nico Porteous, won bronze in '18.
Team USA, figure skating
Timothy DeLuc made figure skating history as the first publicly out nonbinary athlete to compete at the Winter Olympics.
DeLuc and partner Ashley Cain-Gribble put together clean runs in both of their two heats, registering a 74.13 short program tally, and 123.92 in the free skate.
Their 198.05 total netted them an eighth-place finish, but the pair exited the ice with elation following their unforgettable performance.
"It's been six years of work to get here," Cain-Gribble exclaimed afterward. "We weren't going to let any moment get away from us."
"We were so joyous," DeLuc said. "From the moment we took the ice, I looked around and was like ‘oh my gosh, I was that small kid 20 years ago watching this, and here I am.’ It was such a joyous moment."
Meanwhile, Americans Brandon Frazier and Alexa Knierim put together a total score of 212.68 (74.23 in the short program, and 138.45 in the free skate) to finish in sixth place.
Team USA, speed skating
The men's mass event culminated with a riveting finish in the final. American Joey Mantia kept pace at the front of the pack throughout and unleashed an empathic burst on the final turn to put himself in medal contention.
It was impossible to tell if he'd done so in real time, but after looking back at video replays, officials found that Mantia crossed the finish line just behind Korea's Seung Hoon Lee, losing out on bronze by .002 seconds (two thousandths of a second).
Mantia's coaches argued that he'd been pulled back just before the line, but Mantia didn't expect to see a change on the scoreboard, especially given the newness of the event. He finished at 7:47.206 in the near eight-minute marathon, while Lee had a time of 7:47.204.
"I’m pretty biased on the situation, obviously," Mantia said post-race. "I want that medal, and I feel like I was maybe cheated a little bit. I don’t think he did it on purpose. It’s racing. It still happened."
On the women's side, Mia Kilburg also finished in fourth place in the women's 16-lap mass start. While her race was far less hectic than Mantia's, the cyclist-turned-speedskater narrowly missed out on the podium after collecting 10 sprint points during her run. The Netherlands' Irene Schouten won gold with 60 points.
