Twenty years after becoming the first Black athlete to win gold at the Winter Olympics, American bobsledder Vonetta Flowers reflects on her legacy — one that was critical in molding the United States’ dominant bobsled team.
Not long after she missed the 2000 Sydney Olympics, however, her husband spotted a flyer for USA Bobsled and suggested it could be another opportunity to compete in the Games."It literally changed our lives," Flowers said."The only thing I knew about bobsled wasMany of the strengths Flowers gained through running translated to bobsled. Recruiters first tested her on five different criteria, including speed and strength.
Salt Lake 2002 marked the first time any women’s event existed for bobsled. Twenty years later, the 2022 Winter Olympics have added a second discipline: monobob. While these Games have enjoyed greater diversity across all sports – "She’s become the face of bobsled for the women, and I’m so proud of her," Flowers said."She’s inspired that next generation. Hopefully, there will be more diversity in all the sports, not only bobsled. There are a lot of great athletes out there. Hopefully, seeing people that look like them on TV, competing at such a high level, will inspire others to give this a try."Meyers Taylor spoke to NBCOlympics.com just days before the 2022 Winter Games began.
The Olympians initially met at Vancouver 2010, when Flowers acted as then-Vice President Joe Biden’s personal envoy at the Games. At the time, the two discussed bobsledding, and what it meant to be a person of color in a sport that had lacked diversity for so long. But the Flowers-Meyers Taylor bond developed and deepened over the years, especially after Nico Meyers Taylor was born a month before the pandemic.
As her accomplishments stand tall in sports history, Flowers hopes that her story will continue inspiring others to not give up on their dreams. She especially wants to motivate people from humble backgrounds.
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