Georgia has one Olympian on Team USA. Here's when, how to watch her

The country's best winter athletes are just hours away from stepping into the 2026 Winter Games opening ceremony in Milan, kicking off 16 days of fierce athletic competition.

Decked out in Ralph Lauren uniforms and eager to hit the slopes and the ice, Team USA includes 232 athletes from across the United States.

But, only one of these athletes calls Georgia home — five-time Olympian and Douglasville native Elana Meyers Taylor.

Meyers Taylor is one of just seven athletes to be competing in her fifth Olympics for Team USA. She's joined by Evan Bates from figuring skating, Nick Baumgartner from snowboarding, Faye Thelen (formerly Faye Gulini) from snowboarding, Kaillie Humphries from bobsled, Hilary knight from ice hockey and Lindsey Vonn from alpine skiing.

Here's what to know about Taylor, the most decorated Black winter Olympian in history.

Who is Elana Meyers Taylor?

Meyers Taylor first competed in women's bobsled in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and finished third, but won her first silver medal in 2014. She would go on to compete in the 2018 and 2022 Olympics, and ultimately brought home three silver medals and two bronze medals across the four Olympics Games.

The Olympian was born in California in 1984, but she grew up in Douglasville, Georgia, about 20 miles outside Atlanta.

"My heart will always be in Atlanta. I'm a Douglasville girl," she said in a Jan. 5 Instagram video.

Both of Meyers Taylor's children were born in Atlanta, and she said the city will "always be home" no matter where they are in the world.

Meyers Taylor's successful bobsled career started before her Olympic recognition. In 2009, she piloted a two-woman team at the World Championships to a silver finish, alongside Shauna Rohbock in Lake Placid, New York.

In between Olympic Games, Meyers Taylor reached the top of her sport, competing in numerous World Championships and North American Cups in both all-female and mix-gender crews.

Before becoming a decorated athlete in bobsled, Meyers Taylor attended George Washington University on a softball scholarship and competed on USA women's rugby sevens team at the China Women's Sevens.

Brakeman controversy days before Olympics

Meyers Taylor competes as a bobsled pilot, meaning she is the athlete at the front of the sled and there is a second athlete behind her, called a brakeman.

But the selection of the brakeman for the 2026 Olympic team has hit hurdles.

"Over the past two weeks I have been involved in two separate arbitration cases contesting the selection of the brakeman chosen for my sled for these Olympic Games," Meyers Taylor wrote in a Feb. 1 Instagram post. "While I respect the process and the contesting athletes' rights to be heard, this process has been daunting. I've hired a lawyer, had every single push and drive of a difficult season scrutinized, had my driving ability and medal potential questioned, and had to recount one of the most horrific crashes of my career several times- all while trying to prepare for two of the biggest races of my career."

USA bobsled women's team includes Meyers Taylor, Kaillie Humphries, Kaysha Love, Azaria Hill, Jasmine Jones and Jadin O'Brien.

When and how to watch bobsled at the Olympics?

Bobsled athletes compete in two-man, four-man, two-woman and women's monobob events, reaching more than 90 miles per hour down icy tracks. In the group events, the team members have to work together to push the sled and get it up to speed before jumping in and riding it down the course.

Bobsled athletes complete four runs over two days, and the final standings are based on the four times added together, so the faster you go, the more likely you are to win a medal.

This year, the bobsled events will begin on Feb. 12 with training runs for the men's and women's teams.

The first official races start Feb. 15 with women's monobob, or single-athlete races. Men's two-man bobsled starts competing on Feb. 16, with women's monobob final races later that day.

Men's and women's events will continue until Feb. 22 with the last race being the final heat of men's four-man bobsled. A full bobsled events schedule can be found here.

Viewers can see select event coverage on NBC for the entirety of the Olympic Games. To see a wider variety of events 24/7, the Olympics are also streaming on Peacock.

Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Douglasville native is only Georgian on Team USA for 2026 Olympics