Vault: Elana Meyers won Bronze in Bobsledding

Summary

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The Bert Show – Vault: Elana Meyers Won Bronze in Bobsledding

Date: June 26, 2026
Guests/Hosts: Bert Show Cast (Bert, Kristin, Abby, Cassie, Tommy & more), guest Elana Meyers

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EPISODE OVERVIEW

This episode features an upbeat and heartfelt interview with Elana Meyers, fresh from her win as a bronze medalist in Bobsledding. The Bert Show cast dives deep into Elana’s thrilling Olympic experience—her preparation, the nerve-wracking final run, team dynamics, and the emotions that followed her podium finish. The episode offers listeners an inside look at the world of Olympic bobsledding, highlighting the perseverance, camaraderie, and celebration that come with reaching such a milestone.

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KEY DISCUSSION POINTS & INSIGHTS

1. The Final Run: Routine, Pressure, and the "50-50 Curve"

• Pre-run Rituals & Mindset

  • Elana described the routine she and her driver go through before each run.
    • Quote (01:31, Elana):
      “She does the same thing before every run. She just says, ‘you ready?’ And basically, I shake my head yes at her and we get ready to go. It's the same thing we've done every race during the season, and we kept it routine.”
  • Elana mentioned her driver was "calmer than she’s ever been" for their final run, and they smiled at each other before starting.

• Confidence & the Notorious Curve

  • Going into the final stretch, Elana knew as long as they cleared the infamous “50-50 curve,” they’d secure a medal.
    • Quote (01:59, Elana):
      “I knew going down on the last run, sitting on the line, that as long as we got through the 50-50 curve, we were going to get a medal. It was just what color we were going to get.”
  • The “50-50 curve” was named by American pilot Steve Holcomb because “50% chance you'll make it out of there.”

2. Immediate Reaction to the Win

• Finish Line Chaos
  • Elana explained the difficulty in knowing results instantly because of race intensity and the need to stay aerodynamic.
    • Quote (02:36, Elana):
      “There's actually a clock you see going up the outrun, and I didn't see it...Erin started screaming, I was trying to stay aerodynamic but trying to peek too.”
  • When her driver screamed post-run, Elana instantly began celebrating, even before fully comprehending their placement.

3. Physical & Mental Obstacles

• Handling Adversity
  • Elana addressed her driver's injury (pulled hamstring) and their mindset.
    • Quote (03:39, Elana):
      “We both kind of approached it as this is an obstacle being dealt and we're just going to do the best we can with it and let God take care of the rest.”

4. The Podium & Media Frenzy

• Celebration and Media Attention
  • The episode highlights how Meyers and team were underdogs, gaining significant attention post-victory.
    • Quote (05:32, Elana):
      “It feels awesome. I had confidence in me and Erin and our ability the whole time going in... We didn't care what other people said, and we were gonna go out there and have fun.”
  • Elana shared that after the win, it was “go, go, go nonstop,” including a stint on the Today Show.

5. Team Selections & Rivalries – Dispelling the Myths

• Clarifying Push-Off Rumors (the Robach Story)
  • Elana clarified rumors about intra-team competition for sled spots:
    • Quote (06:27, Elana):
      “That's kind of a missed story, actually...We had a race off for world championships last year, and I won...but the coaches decided to put me in the sled...the coaches make that decision. In the US, we're democratic.”
  • The show hosts joke about rooting "against" Robach briefly before learning the real selection process.

6. Family, Flags, & Emotional Highs

• Family Support

  • Elana’s parents were present and handed her the American flag at the finish—flags flown in from Iraq by the U.S. military.
    • Quote (07:29, Elana):
      “Our flags is pretty cool. We're flown in from Iraq from our US military...from McGuire Air Force Base in New York.”

• Emotional Response

  • Despite the magnitude, Elana admitted she hadn’t cried—yet.
    • Quote (07:58, Elana):
      “I couldn't cry. I often joke that I don't have tear ducts because every time I want to cry, I just...can't.”

7. Reflections and Next Steps

• Shout-Outs and Gratitude

  • Elana gave special thanks to friends, family, and her supporters, mentioning specific names and hometowns.
    • Quote (08:24, Elana):
      “Thank you for all your support. It's really been encouraging... You guys were all with us at the Hill tonight, so thank you.”

• What's Next?

  • The immediate future: More celebration is in store after the whirlwind of Olympic obligations and a little sleep.
    • Quote (08:55, Elana):
      “We're still being carted around as we speak...Hopefully we'll get to the celebration. Maybe tomorrow after we get some sleep. I don't know. Just go with the flow...I don't care.”

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MEMORABLE MOMENTS & QUOTES

• On the pressure of competition:
  “Sometimes your smoothest runs may not necessarily be your fastest runs.” — Elana Meyers (03:11)

• On perseverance:
  “We knew we could do it...we were gonna go out there and have fun.” — Elana Meyers (05:32)

• On Olympic chaos:
  “We've just been go, go, go nonstop.” — Elana Meyers (04:53)

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TIMESTAMPS FOR IMPORTANT SEGMENTS

• 00:39 — Elana Meyers joins the show, reflecting on her surreal medal win.
• 01:31 — Insights into her pre-race ritual and mindstate.
• 01:59 — Discussion of the tense moment before taking on the "50-50 curve".
• 02:36 — Confusion and elation at the finish line.
• 03:39 — How an injury affected their race dynamics.
• 05:32 — Reactions as the overlooked team heading into the finals.
• 06:27 — Clarifying team selection and rivalry rumors.
• 07:29 — Family, patriotic moments, and flags flown from abroad.
• 07:58 — Addressing the emotional aftermath of winning bronze.
• 08:24 — Gratitude and shoutouts to supporters.
• 08:55 — The reality of post-win logistics and what comes next.

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OVERALL TONE & TAKEAWAYS

The interview is warm, personal, energetic, and celebratory—reflecting both Elana’s humility and the show’s supportive dynamic. It’s a feel-good Olympian story about teamwork, defying the odds, and staying focused despite pressures and challenges. The hosts and Elana keep things fun, positive, and authentic, delivering an episode that captures the pride and joy of a true Olympic moment.

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Transcript

[A]

The Birch Show. I don't know if this is going to be first or second, but this is going to be a medal. 89 and a half miles per hour, packed to the finish. Second place. She does guarantee herself a medal. With that run. First, second, now. Congratulations, Mom. Gale right in the middle, waving the flag as Aaron and Alana Myers have clinched the medal.

[B]

Yes, they did awesome. There she is. Congratulations, bronze medalist. Alana, good job. Unbelievable. This in some ways to you must feel, like, surreal.

[C]

It's very surreal right now. You know, I've been up since 4 yesterday morning, and just all the things that are happening so fast, I'm just amazed. It's been a great ride so far.

[B]

Okay, let's. I mean, there's so much to cover with you. I don't even know where to start. Okay, so let's start with you being up on top of, you know, getting ready to start the very. The last run. I watched it this morning, and there's a lot of stuff going on there.

[C]

Yeah. Sorry.

[B]

It's okay. The driver said something to you right before you guys pushed. What did she say to you?

[C]

She does the same thing before every run. She just says, you ready? And basically I shake my head yes at her and we get ready to go. It's the same thing we've done every race during the season, and we kept it routine. And actually this race, she was calmer than she's ever been. And we actually smile at each other every single run.

[B]

Really. Did you. Before you went down, did you have this, like, you knew where you were, standings wise? Right. So did you have this confidence? Like, was it a little different? Like, damn, I think we're really going to do this?

[C]

Oh, definitely. I knew going down on the last run, sitting on the line, that as long as we got through the 50, 50 curve, we were going to get a medal. It was just what color we were going to get.

[D]

Now, is that the curve that the Germans wrecked on?

[C]

Yes.

[D]

Yeah, that was a pretty bad curve.

[C]

Pretty much every crash at that track is that curve. And that curve is actually named by our American pilot, Steve Holcomb. Yeah. 50, 50. 50% chance you'll make it out of there.

[B]

So Jen asked a really good question earlier this morning. Like, once you cross the finish line, how do you know what your time is and how do you know where you're, where you stand?

[C]

There's actually a clock you see going up the outrun, and I didn't see it. My head was down or I was trying to peek because Erin started screaming But I wasn't really. I was trying to stay aerodynamic but trying to peek too. And she started screaming and I was like, what's happening? What's happening? So clock and knew we were, knew we were in the medals.

[B]

When you're going down that fast and there's such little time difference between you and the gold medalist, does the run feel faster even though you're talking about tenths, hundredths of a second? Like, can you feel a good run from a bad run?

[C]

Oh, definitely. You could feel a good run from a bad run. We feel how sled gets on curves and we feel how it gets off curves and we feel how smooth it is. But sometimes it's tricky because your smoothest runs may not necessarily be your fastest runs. So for a brakeman, we can feel whether the run feels good, but we may not necessarily know whether it's fast.

[E]

And your drivers had a pulled hamstring before you actually started running. Did that have any effect or did you change your game plan before going down on those runs?

[C]

You know, I think we both kind of approached it as this is an obstacle being dealt and we're just going to do the best we can with it and let God take care of the rest.

[B]

That's what a great story.

[F]

Amazing.

[B]

So bring us onto the track then. So your driver starts yelling, you get out. Do you understand at that point where you are in the standings and do you start hugging her or what happens at that point for you?

[C]

Actually, I had, when she started yelling, I had no idea where we were in the standings. I knew it was a metal, I didn't know what color, but she just started screaming. She was so excited. So I just fed off at it and started screaming too. And I was like, oh wait, I gotta get the sled. Oh wait, we gotta wait.

[A]

No.

[C]

What's going on? Gotta take care of things. Everything's gonna get left. But no, he had coaches to take care of stuff.

[B]

It's an unbelievable story. So after that I'm assuming, I think that there was one more sled that comes down which pushes you to bronze at that point, then I'm assuming you guys are hugging. Everybody's high fiving with the coaches and all that. Do they immediately take you to a medal ceremony or does that happen today?

[C]

No, it happens today. We have our medal ceremony at seven o' clock tonight.

[D]

Awesome.

[F]

That's awesome. That is so great.

[B]

Have you had a chance to like, sort of, I don't know, visualize what it's going to be like for you to stand on that Podium tonight?

[C]

Oh, I haven't even gotten that far. We've been go, go, go ever since. You know, we had media stuff all day or all night and just got off the Today show, and we've just been go, go, go nonstop.

[D]

How does it feel, though? I mean, because you were not the favored US Team to win the medal, and even last night telling Bert that I watched it live on NBC, and even the announcers seem to think that even though you went into it in second place, that you were going to be the team to do it. And so how does it feel today to know that you're getting all the attention and nobody was paying attention to you before this?

[C]

It feels awesome. You know, I had confidence in me and Aaron and our ability the whole time going in, and we both believed we can do it, and that's really what it took. And a lot of prayers, a lot of hard work. We knew we could do it. We knew we didn't care what other people said, and we were gonna go out there and have fun. And I think that's why we were able to do so well, is we enjoyed the experience. We enjoyed the whole experience.

[B]

Elana, there was kind of a side story that was rumored the last couple of days, and I want you to tell us if this is accurate or not. What's that number one sledder's name, like Rocock or something like that?

[C]

Robach.

[B]

Robach. Okay, Robach. All right. So at some point, I think maybe one of her pushers hurt herself or something. So you had to go in a push off between another person, and you actually won that competition. But Robach still didn't believe that you won, and she went with the other pusher.

[C]

That's kind of a missed story, actually. Basically what happened is we had a race off for world championships last year, and I won the race off, and then basically, Shawna wanted to go with another brakeman, but the coaches decided to put me in the sled, and we raced world championships together last year and got a silver medal.

[D]

Well, let me just apologize to Robach because last night I was giving her the evil eye as she was going down the hill, because I thought the

[B]

story was that she had rejected you, so she didn't. So she doesn't choose you or somebody else. It's the coaches that do that.

[C]

No, in the US Federation, it's the coaches. And the girl she was. She wanted to side with was the girl she had won the silver medal with in 2006. So it's. It's understandable. But the coaches make that decision. In the US we're democratic.

[F]

I know that you've been so busy after winning, but have you been able to celebrate with friends and family and that kind of thing? Did you call your parents right away or what?

[C]

My parents are up here. I saw them very, very briefly for a second, and they actually handed us our flags. And our flags is pretty cool. We're flown in from Iraq from our US military, so that's pretty full from McGuire Air Force Base in New York. That was pretty exciting. And, yeah, so saw him briefly, but that's pretty much it. After that, we were carted away.

[B]

You seem so calm, cool, and collected about the whole thing. At any point in this whole process, have you cried?

[C]

I couldn't cry. I often joke that I don't have tear ducts because every time I want to cry, I just. I'm not able to cry. I think I'm just so elated right now. The tears won't come, but they probably will later.

[B]

I bet when you're on that podium tonight, you're starting bawling like a little baby.

[F]

That might be the moment that gets you right.

[B]

Well, congratulations. Is there anything you want to say to everybody back in Douglasville or any family that you might still have here?

[C]

I think I'm supposed to shout out to Dr. Moody and all his clinical staff and everything at the hospital and the doctor's office, and then just thank you for all your support. It's really been encouraging. And everybody there, everybody in Atlanta and everybody who's following us and praying for us and cheering for us, you guys were all with us at the Hill tonight, so thank you.

[B]

It's fantastic.

[C]

That's awesome.

[B]

So what is it? So do you get to hang out now for the rest of the Olympics and get your drink on and get your party on, or what happens now?

[C]

We're still being carted around as we speak, so hopefully we'll get to get to the celebration. Maybe tomorrow after we get some sleep. I don't know. Just go with the flow. Whatever they tell me to go, I'll go. I don't care.

[B]

I bet somebody could hit you with a hammer today and you wouldn't even care.

[C]

Probably wouldn't feel it.

[B]

Hey, congratulations. We're really, really happy for you and really proud of you.

[C]

Thank you.

[B]

All right, Alana, we'll talk to you when you get back. Okay?

[C]

All right.

[B]

Bye. Bye. Yeah, she's on cloud nine right there, man.

[C]

She's awesome.

[B]

I said to Tracy we should try to get her back on live tomorrow just to get her take on what it's like to be on that podium, you know.

[D]

Well, it's gonna be it's the Canadians won gold and silver, so tonight's gonna be a huge Canadian celebration. So I think that they'll be a little overshadowed, but it'll be nice to see them stand on that bronze platform.

[B]

And they don't do the national anthem. Anthems for everybody. It's just the winner.

[D]

Right.

[B]

But she still gets to hang up there with that flower flag around her shoulders.

[A]

Absolutely.

[F]

So cool.

[B]

Yeah. That's really. That's amazing right there. Honor, it's Alana Myers from Douglasville. We have video of her run up online at q100atlanta.com the Bird Show.