FL Native First Black Woman To Win Olympic Speedskating Gold

BEIJING — Ocala, Florida, native Erin Jackson became the first Black woman to win an Olympic speedskating medal when she sprinted to a gold medal in the 500 meters Sunday in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.

Jackson won the race with a time of 37.04 seconds, edging out silver medalist Miho Takagi of Japan.

The University of Florida alumna joins American Shani Davis as the only Black athletes to medal in speedskating at an Olympic Games. Davis has four Olympic medals in total, winning gold in the 1,000 and silver in the 1,500 in both the 2006 Turin Games and the 2010 Vancouver Games.

Jackson, who started her career as an inline skater, almost didn't make the Beijing Games after she slipped and finished third in the 500 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Longtime friend and fellow Ocala native Brittany Bowe, who finished first at the trials, gave up her spot to Jackson before it was revealed in the final allocations that the Americans could take three skaters. Bowe finished 16th in Beijing.

The two shared a moment when Jackson clinched the gold medal.

“She hugged me and we cried,” Jackson said. “She said she’s really proud of me and I said a lot of thank yous.”

Jackson, the first American woman to win an individual Olympic speedskating medal since 2002, is hopeful that her performance can be an inspiration for people of color looking to get into speedskating.

“Hopefully we’ll see more minorities, especially in the USA, getting out and trying these winter sports,” Jackson said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.