Being a mom of two and competing at 41, Elana Meyers Taylor is living a dream few athletes ever accomplish. But even a five-time Olympic medalist has her limits. She now finds herself in a tough spot and has decided to go silent on the issue. What’s gone wrong just 5 days before the Olympics?

In the US, bobsled pilots cannot handpick their brakemen; instead, a selection committee consisting of two athlete representatives, coaches, and experienced staff makes the final decision. Interestingly enough, however, athletes who disagree or believe the decision to be unfair can challenge it legally through arbitration.

And just recently, Meyers Taylor shared that she’s been going through the very same arbitration process – two separate ones, in fact. Though it’s a process that occurs during the selection of nearly every Olympic team, it nonetheless remains difficult and “daunting.”

“Over the past two weeks I have been involved in two separate arbitration cases contesting the selection of the brakeman chosen for my sled for these Olympic Games. While I respect the process and the contesting athletes’ rights to be heard, this process has been daunting,” she wrote on Instagram.

The brakeman is a critical teammate in the two-woman bobsled event, providing power at the start and then safely braking the high-speed sled. For the upcoming Olympic Games, Meyers Taylor is paired with Jadin O’Brien, with whom she raced in recent World Cup events. A decision that’s been challenged twice, though Meyers Taylor didn’t name names.

“I’ve hired a lawyer, had every single push and drive of a difficult season scrutinized, had my driving ability and medal potential questioned, and had to recount one of the most horrific crashes of my career several times- all while trying to prepare for two of the biggest races of my career,” continued the statement.

The five-time Olympic medalist is presumably referring to the crash that occurred on 9 January at a race in St. Moritz, Switzerland, when her front axle tore through her sled.

She only narrowly escaped disaster as the weight plate attached at the front of the sled prevented the axle from tearing through the whole of the sled with her and O’Brien in it. The broken axle caused one crash, and then she crashed three more times until the sled finally came to a halt thanks to the efforts of the track crew.

“I’m extremely grateful that my brakeman @jadinobrien and I were able to walk away from this one with minimal injuries- as we were inches away from having a different outcome,” she wrote on Instagram afterward.

But because of stress caused by the ongoing dispute, she has decided to stop discussing the case.

“Therefore, I will no longer be commenting or taking any questions in regard to the selection of my brakeman. I will gladly gloat on their greatness, but please defer any selection or arbitration related questions to @USATF staff,” she wrote.

Meyers Taylor began her career as a brakeman. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, she competed in the back of the sled piloted by Erin Pac, winning bronze. After that, she trained to become a pilot and has steered her sled in all subsequent Olympics, making her decisions about the brakeman especially important.

With the Olympic Games just days away, the pairing of pilot and brakeman is not just a technical detail but a factor that can determine Team USA’s medal chances. Especially for Meyers Taylor, who’s gunning for her last shot at gold. For her, these Olympic Games are do-or-die.

Why Milano Cortina means everything for 5x Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor

These Olympics are not like the others for Elana Meyers Taylor. It carries more weight. More pressure. And far less room for mistakes. Across four previous Olympic Games, Elana has won three silver medals and two bronze medals.

She has stood on the podium again and again, yet that elusive gold medal has always escaped her. Milano Cortina represents the one chance to finish her Olympic journey with nothing left undone.

To reach this far, this cycle tested her in many ways. After the 2022 Olympics, Elana Meyers Taylor gave birth to her second son. Returning to elite sport meant rebuilding her body while raising a family. Training was no longer about endless hours on the track.

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Every session had to count. “It’s this balance between trying to figure out how to get the maximal training in and not maximal amount of time because I literally don’t have the time. We really work on quality over quantity,” she said.

There is also unfinished business from Beijing. At the 2022 Games, she tested positive for COVID-19 just two days after arriving. She was forced into isolation and lost valuable preparation time. Although she later returned to competition and won silver in monobob and bronze in the two-woman bobsled, the disruption changed her entire Olympic experience.

Now she returns at 41 years old, an age few athletes ever reach in this sport. Milan0 Cortina could be her final Olympics. While she has not officially said she will retire after 2026, the reality is clear: opportunities like this do not come again.