{"id":59449,"date":"2018-02-22T06:23:16","date_gmt":"2018-02-22T06:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=59449"},"modified":"2018-02-22T06:23:16","modified_gmt":"2018-02-22T06:23:16","slug":"olympic-medalist-elana-meyers-taylor-gets-emotional-discussing-loss-of-teammate-steven-holcomb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/olympic-medalist-elana-meyers-taylor-gets-emotional-discussing-loss-of-teammate-steven-holcomb.html","title":{"rendered":"Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor gets emotional discussing loss of teammate Steven Holcomb"},"content":{"rendered":"

Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor gets emotional discussing loss of teammate Steven Holcomb<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Twelve hours after she made U.S. bobsled history, winning an Olympic silver and the third medal of her career, Elana Meyers Taylor got emotional talking about the loss she\u2019s felt this season without her teammate and friend Steven Holcomb.<\/span><\/p>\n

Holcomb was found dead in his Lake Placid training center room last May. The sliding community was devastated by the loss as Holcomb was the most successful athlete in USA Bobsled history \u2013 a three-time Olympic medalist who won gold in 2010 \u2013 the team leader and a friend to many.<\/span><\/p>\n

Holcomb was also a mentor to Meyers Taylor. She recalled talking with him while the two walked the track last March when athletes came to Alpensia Sliding Centre for a test event.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI went to Holcomb for everything and I didn\u2019t realize it until coming into this season how much I really went to him,\u201d she said at a news conference Thursday. \u201cIt was simple things. The first run of the year he always took down, and I\u2019d ask him how the ice was. Or I\u2019d ask him what equipment he was using or I\u2019d just bounce ideas off of him \u2026 He was one of those people that was a really good friend and someone I really looked up to and when he passed away, I really felt like I didn\u2019t have much joy in sliding. And I\u2019m a person who really loves sliding and really finds a lot of joy in it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

During the summer, athletes have weekly calls with their coaches to discuss lines and training, she said. But for Meyers Taylor, even thinking about bobsled was difficult.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI knew the responsibility of leading this team would be up to me and it was a really hard pill for me to swallow,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know if he left me with the things I would need to be prepared. \u2026 I didn\u2019t know if I could do it. There were definitely moments in the season where I broke down and I didn\u2019t know what was going to happen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Meyers Taylor said she was able to deal with her grief over the past few months with the help of U.S. coach Brian Shimer. On Wednesday night after she had sealed up the silver, she was texting with Olympic skeleton athlete Katie Uhlaender, a good friend of Holcomb\u2019s who was watching with his mom Jean Schaefer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJust saying thank you because he\u2019s done so much for me and he\u2019s done so much for the sport,\u201d Meyers Taylor said. \u201cIt\u2019s a legacy that the least I can do is try to live up to it. I still have to get that gold medal because he\u2019s still got that over me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/winter-olympics-2018\/2018\/02\/22\/olympic-medalist-elana-meyers-taylor-gets-emotional-discussing-loss-teammate-steven-holcomb\/362047002\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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