bobsled

Meyers Taylor, Freidrich Headline Historic Bobsled Runs at 2022 Olympics

American bobsled women gave us several tear-jerking moments while the German men continued their reign of dominance

USA’s Elana Meyers Taylor and Sylvia Hoffman celebrate after the final run in the 2-woman bobsleigh event at the Yanqing National Sliding Centre during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Yanqing on February 19, 2022. (Photo by Daniel MIHAILESCU / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP via Getty Images)

The Yanqing National Sliding Centre has closed its doors on a jam-packed Olympic season.

For the first time since 1998, Jamaica entered a four-man team. Several of the sports' greats went out on top, winning medals amid rumors that they might be retiring before 2026.

Germany led all countries with seven medals, headlined by a podium sweep of the two-man competition. The U.S. and Canada rounded out the medal finishes with three and two medals, respectively.

Here are some highlights from the four bobsledding events at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor of Team USA go 1-2 in the inaugural monobob

Bobsledding got a flashy start with the women's monobob making its debut.

With sleds marketed at a fraction of the price of the two- and four-man sleds, monobob was introduced into Olympic programming with the hope of creating more opportunities for women and smaller NOCs.

American duo Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor cemented themselves in history as two of the first medalists in the event. Humphries jumped out to a commanding lead and never looked back while Meyers Taylor mounted a thrilling come from behind win in the final run to jump from bronze to silver.

Contributing to the intrigue of the event was the fact that Humphries, who previously competed for Canada, stood next to bronze medalist and former Canadian teammate Christine de Bruin while fighting back emotion during the National Anthem.

German men completes historic sweep in the two-man competition

Germany solidified its reputation as "kings of the sliding sports" with an unprecedented event sweep.

The three teams finished 1.69 seconds apart led by pilot Francesco Friedrich and Thorsten Margis. Their third heat run set a track record of 58.99 seconds.

Meyers Taylor wins bronze in the two-woman competition becoming the most decorated female bobsledder and the most decorated Black athlete at the Winter Olympics

Meyers Taylor and Sylvia Hoffman snuck onto the podium, denying the German woman a sweep of the two-woman event, en route to Meyers Taylor's record fifth Olympic medal.

Heading into this event, she and Humphries were in gridlock with a women's record, four medals apiece. This bronze medal win gives Meyers Taylor the outright title as most decorated female bobsledder as well as most decorated Black Olympian at the Winter Games. This honor was previously held by speed skater Shani Davis who won four medals from 2006 and 2010.

For her efforts, Meyers Taylor was named U.S. flag bearer for the Closing Ceremony on Sunday.

In some ways, this is an overdue honor. Meyers Taylor was initially set to serve as a flag bearer in the Opening Ceremony but had to hand that responsibility off to speed skater Brittany Bowe after a Covid-19 diagnosis sidelined her upon arriving in Beijing.

Francesco Friedrich of Germany defends his gold medals in both the two-man and four-man races, making him the first pilot in Olympic history to repeat the double victory

Francesco Friedrich is in a league of his own and now he has the hardware to back it up.

Friedrich entered Beijing with a target on his back after winning both the two- and four-man competition in PyeongChang. He proved he could rise above the pressure, defending both gold medals and becoming the first pilot in Olympic history to win back-to-back doubleheaders in bobsledding.

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