"The 41-year-old Meyers Taylor is now the oldest gold medalist ever in an individual Winter Olympics event and only the second Black woman, after American Erin Jackson in 2022, to win individual Winter Olympics gold. Remarkably, Meyers Taylor has medaled in five straight Olympics; her latest podium finish, her sixth overall, ties her with Bonnie Blair as the most decorated female Winter Olympian in U.S. history."
"In the aggregate, though, these segments can start to make viewers feel jaded. In a world riven by sorrow and desperation, it seems cheap and somewhat manipulative to imply that a professional skier returning to competition after suffering a leg injury is a bona fide profile in courage. If everybody's inspirational, then nobody's inspirational. Oh, look, another 23-year-old who has to wake up early to practice. Big damn deal."
Elana Meyers Taylor narrowly beat Germany's Laura Nolte in the women's monobob finals to win Olympic gold after 16 years of competition. At 41, she became the oldest individual Winter Olympic gold medalist and the second Black woman to win individual Winter gold. She has medaled in five consecutive Olympics and her sixth medal ties Bonnie Blair as the most decorated female Winter Olympian in U.S. history. NBC's prime-time features emphasize inspirational backstories to create rooting interest. Overuse of adversity narratives can breed cynicism, but some athletes' journeys authentically justify the emotional weight those features seek.
Read at Slate Magazine
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]