The Associated Press Germany’s Laura Nolte (left, silver) and Elana Meyers Taylor (center, gold) and Kaillie Armbruster Humphries (bronze) of the U.S. pose for photos.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Elana Meyers Taylor’s two young sons watched her leap into the air, throw her fists skyward, wave the American flag, then fall to her knees and start to cry.

In time, they’ll understand what they saw.

They saw history.

The 41-year-old U.S. bobsledder — a mother of two special-needs children, an athlete whose career was jeopardized by concussions, someone who dealt with plenty of doubt in recent years — is, finally, an Olympic champion. Meyers Taylor won the gold medal in monobob at the Milan Cortina Games on Monday night, her sixth career medal and first Olympic title.

“I thought it was impossible,” Meyers Taylor said.

She was never happier to be wrong.

She became the oldest American woman to hear “The Star-Spangled Banner” played in her honor at the Winter Games. Rallying in the fourth and final heat, Meyers Taylor prevailed with a four-run, two-day time of 3 minutes, 57.93 seconds.

Meyers Taylor had medaled five times before — three silver, two bronze. She was the most decorated Black athlete at a Winter Olympics even before this win, and her place in history got a whole lot more dazzling on a frosty night in the Italian mountains. And this medal, her sixth, tied Bonnie Blair for the most by a U.S. woman in the Winter Olympics.

“To have my name up there with Bonnie Blair, it doesn’t even make sense to me,” Meyers Taylor said.

Germany’s Laura Nolte — the leader after the first, second and third runs — was second and Kaillie Humphries Armbruster of the U.S. was third.

“I’m a bit sad because now at the moment it feels like I lost gold — and not that I won silver. In a few hours I think I can celebrate it, because it’s still a great result,” Nolte said. “Elana also deserves it. She’s a super kind human and she has won silver for many times now and the gold was missing.”

It was the fifth career medal for Humphries Armbruster. She’s 40 and about 18 months removed from becoming a mom — and she technically became the first woman 40 or older to clinch an Olympic bobsled medal, since she finished her competition exactly 2 minutes, 29 seconds before Meyers Taylor crossed the line to join the 40-something medal club.