When Elana Meyers Taylor started softball at age 9, she set a goal of reaching the Olympics. Two years later, the Georgia native watched her idols Dot Richardson and Lisa Fernandez win gold for Team USA in softball’s Olympic debut in the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
Fourteen years after that, Meyers Taylor competed in her first Olympics, but on an ice track rather than a softball diamond. Softball was the gateway to her Olympic dream, but that dream was realized through the sport of bobsled.
The journey of this multifaceted athlete would not have been possible without opportunities provided through Title IX legislation and the collegiate model in the United States. In 2003, more than 30 years after Title IX was signed into law, Meyers Taylor became George Washington’s first-ever softball recruit. She took the offer from the Colonials for a chance to pursue her degree while helping build a program from scratch.
“When I set out to go to GW and when I knew I would be part of the softball program, one of the things that appealed to me is I would have the opportunity to start a legacy and start something fresh,” Meyers Taylor said. “GW had added the softball program because of Title IX. They knew they needed to offer more female…
