Black Winter Olympic Games Athletes: Past and present

Elana Meyers Taylor became the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympic history at Beijing 2022.

The Team USA bobsleigh star won silver in the inaugural women's monobob before the pilot claimed bronze with brakewoman Sylvia Hoffman in the two-woman bobsled.

With her two medals from Beijing 2022, Meyers Taylor now has five across four Olympic Winter Games, more than any other Black athlete.

The 37-year-old paid tribute to those who paved the way, telling Olympics.com: "There's a lot of people that came before me. Vonetta Flowers is the reason I'm here, and (speed skater) Shani Davis, and even Erin Jackson [500m speed skating gold medallist in Beijing].

"It's just been such a long legacy of Black athletes at the Winter Olympics and hopefully it just continues."

We look at the history and impact made by Black athletes in Olympic Winter Games history.

Flowers was a sprinter and long jumper at the University of Alabama who hung up her spikes after missing selection to the Summer Games at Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.

She participated in a bobsleigh tryout event and two years later became the first Black athlete to win Winter Olympics gold at Salt Lake City 2002 with Jill Bakken in the two-woman bobsled.

Flowers was unaware of the magnitude of her achievement at the time, telling Team USA: “I honestly had no idea! All I wanted to do was live out a childhood dream of winning a medal for Team USA."

She hopes that others will follow her path and points to the USOPC’s FLAME (Finding Leaders Among Minorities Everywhere) Program, which is designed to inspire undergraduate and graduate students of color to pursue careers within the Olympic and Paralympic movements.

What needs to be done to recruit athletes with a diverse