Elana Meyers became the first GW graduate to earn a silver medal Wednesday, finishing in second in the two-women bobsled competition in Sochi.
The former women’s softball shortstop, who now drives the top sled for the United States along with brakewoman Lauryn Williams, finished second behind the Canada-1 sled by just 0.10 seconds.
The gold medal only became out of reach for Meyers after her duo set a track record Tuesday, and had a .11 second lead going into the fourth and final run. But a cleaner run by the Canada-1 sled of Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse gave the Canadians the edge Wednesday.
After already becoming GW’s first-ever Olympic medalist after winning a bronze medal in the 2010 Vancouver games, Meyers made national history Wednesday night in Sochi becoming the first female bobsled athlete from the U.S. to win two Olympic medals.
Athletics director Patrick Nero, who is in Sochi supporting Meyers, said in a release that the alumna “exemplifies the dedication, passion and attitude that we want all of our student-athletes to train and compete with every day.”
“Her commitment to mind and body enabled her to make the transition from elite college softball player to one of the best bobsled pilots in the world, and we couldn’t be more proud of how Elana represents GW on the global stage,” he said in a release.
A recent inductee of the GW Athletic Hall of Fame, Meyers made her mark on the GW community as a standout softball athlete. During her GW softball career Meyers was both a two-time Atlantic 10 Student-Athlete of the Year for softball and former CoSIDA Academic All-American.
She earned her bachelor’s degree from the School of Public Health and Health Services in 2006 and her master’s degree from the GW School of Business in 2011.
NBC will re-broadcast the final runs tonight from 8-11:30 p.m.
