Two alumni are set to compete at the Winter Olympics, which will take place this week in Beijing.
Softball program alumna Elana Meyers Taylor heads for her fourth Olympics, where she will serve as the pilot for the two-women bobsled team, according to an Athletics Department release. Meyers Taylor, who graduated in 2006, is one of 12 bobsled athletes sent to compete for Team USA and among the favorites to win gold this year.
Meyers Taylor will compete in the Olympic debut of monobob on Feb. 13-14, followed by the two-woman competition on Feb. 18-19 in the Xiaohaituo Bobsleigh and Luge Track. During the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Meyers Taylor captured a silver meda, joining teammate Kaillie Humphries to become the first athletes to secure three Olympic bobsled medals.
She was the first recruit for the GW softball program, named two-time A-10 Student-Athlete of the Year and CoSIDA Academic All-American. Taylor was inducted into the GW Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014, had her number 24 retired a year later and also received an honorary Doctorate of Public Service during Commencement in 2018.
Meyers Taylor could not be reached for comment.
The Milken Institute School of Public Health announced that alumnus Sidney Chu will represent Hong Kong in the 500-meter speed skating race on Feb. 11.
Chu, who graduated last year, said in the release that he first became interested in speed skating and began training with the Hong Kong national team when he was 11. During his time at GW, Chu trained in the Potomac SpeedSkating club, where he trained with elite athletes and coaches.
Chu is currently preparing in Hong Kong where he has to take a 30-minute boat ride to another island where he can access the internationally iced skating rink. He said the team is focusing on promoting the sport and encouraging the next generation of athletes, the release states.
“There is a lot of pressure to perform well,” he said. “When I’m in my best physical condition, when I’m in my best mental condition, when I’m at the line and I feel in the moment and focused on winning, I think I’ll be able to achieve a result that I’ll be happy with at the Olympics. If I can perform my best, results will come naturally.”
