DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — One Douglasville woman is set to head to Beijing to compete in her fourth Olympic games as a bobsledder.
Elana Meyers Taylor is representing Team USA in the women's monobob event.
"I don’t know how this will all turn out at the Olympics, but I just wanted to show it’s possible," she penned in a heartfelt Facebook post.
The 37-year-old is a new mother. She said she wants to encourage more women athletes to have the courage to return from pregnancy.
"It’s possible to do extended breastfeeding and physically perform better than most in the works. It’s possible to travel the world with your family, including a baby, and win races," Taylor said.
According to the Team USA website, Taylor was born in California, but considers Douglasville, Georgia her hometown. She and her husband, another Olympic bobsledder named Nicholas Taylor, had a baby boy named Nico in early 2020.
"I hope that other federations and governing bodies can see what I’ve been able to achieve and encourage their athletes to make the best decisions for themselves and their families," she continued.
Even though the journey to return as an Olympic athlete came with "moments our doubt and extreme highs and lows," Taylor said she wants other mothers to know it's possible.
"I hope more athletic organizations will see that athletes’ families are inseparable from their journeys. I hope I’ve made a difference and I hope it’s much easier for the women who come after me," she said.
The first women’s monobob event will air on NBC on Feb. 12 at 8:30 p.m. ET, and the final is set to take place the next night after the Super Bowl.