U.S. bobsleigh great Meyers Taylor says she's set to leave isolation after testing positive

U.S. bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor said Saturday she was about to leave isolation and could start preparing in earnest to compete at the Beijing Olympics.

Meyers Taylor said on NBC's Weekend TODAY that she wouldn't be in isolation much longer.

"I'll be leaving tonight, which is the morning for you guys, and headed to another hotel, so I can start the process of getting back into training and getting everything ready to race," she said.

So Meyers Taylor always had a chance to come back and compete. She posted a video on Twitter on Saturday, showing her lifting a huge barbell in what she called an "isolation hotel workout."

"Fortunately I have a lot of friends internationally," she said during her TV appearance. "They've been sending me notes on the track and doing different things like that. I also have tons of video from our coaches, who have just been doing everything they can to keep me engaged and keep me involved. So I've just been going over that as much as I can, watching video and doing whatever I can to stay ready."

Meyers Taylor is the only woman to win three Olympic bobsleigh medals for the U.S.

China wins 1st gold of home Olympics in short track relay

Darting through traffic, zipping around tight turns, avoiding potential disaster with every relay exchange. China eked out its first gold medal of the Beijing Games, winning the Olympic debut of mixed team relay in short track speed skating.

Asia is a hotbed of the sport known as roller derby on ice, although the typically raucous atmosphere Saturday night was greatly subdued by COVID-19 restrictions at the Olympic venues.

Still, the small number of Chinese allowed in the stands at Capitol Indoor Arena celebrated the host nation's historic win, yelling behind masks and waving tiny flags.

Wu Dajing edged Pietro Sighel of Italy by .016 seconds — or half a skate blade — to claim gold. Hungary earned bronze.

Qu Chunyu, Fan Kexin and Ren Ziwei joined Wu for the victory.

"It was a huge relief," Wu said. "Now we finally realized our dream on the first day."

The results were delayed while the referee reviewed the race. Canada was penalized for pushing from behind and causing contact with Hungary late in the race.

WATCH | Canada misses the podium due to penalty:

"I never imagined today would be this tough," Ren said.

China was the gold-medal favourite coming in, having led the World Cup standings this season. But the host nation wasn't taking anything for granted.

"Even until this morning we had been working on the strategy, still training, still studying how to be better," Fan said.

China's first gold of the games brought cheers from a crowd gathered in front of a big screen outdoor TV in Beijing's Wangfujing shopping district.

"It was thrilling. I was very excited and was filled with all kinds of emotions as I watched the Chinese team approach the finish step by step," said Cheng Hongwei, who had stopped to watch while strolling down the main pedestrian street.

"It's a very exciting thing to see the Chinese national flag being raised again, and I'm very proud as a Chinese," said another Beijing resident Jolin Li, who said her 7-year-old daughter is a huge fan of the Winter Games.

WATCH | Canadian mixed relay team reacts to disqualification in short track final: