Updated on Feb. 13
Erin Jackson is setting the standard of firsts in speed skating. The 29-year-old is now the first Black woman to win the speed skating medal at the Winter Olympics.
“Olympic Champion ? It’s going to take me a while to process those words,” she tweeted after her win.
Jackson won her Olympic medal in the women’s 500- meter speed skating race, finishing her lap in 37.04 seconds. This is the first medal Team USA has won in this event since 1994.
Olympic Champion ? It’s going to take me a while to process those words pic.twitter.com/prdDdYBOiA
— Erin Jackson (@ErinJackson480) February 13, 2022
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The University of Florida engineering graduate ranks #1 in speedskating. In 2018, she became the first Black woman to make a U.S. Olympic long track speed skating team for the Pyeongchang Winter Games when she qualified for the 500 meters long track speed skating event. Last November, the 29-year-old became the first African American woman to win in the World Cup.
The 2022 games were made possible, largely thanks to her childhood friend, Brittany Bowe, who gave her up a 500m Olympic spot for the Ocala, Florida native after she slipped during U.S trials and failed to qualify.
“First and foremost, Erin has earned her right to be on this 500-meter team,” Bowe told NBC Sports, “she’s ranked number one in the world and no one’s more deserving than her to get an opportunity to bring Team USA home a medal.
The selfless gesture was praised on social media. Olympian Mia Manganello Kilburg called it an “honorable move.”
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Being a trailblazer
Jackson understands her impact and her self-confidence is on a ten for the 2022 games. She told Forbes she welcomes being a trailblazer and hopes she can make a difference.
“For the last Olympic trials and Games, I was going with the flow, like, ‘I don’t really feel like I belong here, I just started in this sport recently,” Jackson said. “I don’t know how I got here. This time, I’m coming in with more confidence and feeling like I belong.”
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Being an example to young Black girls
She’s also doing her part to make sure the Winter Olympics are more inclusive.
“I just try to be a good example whenever I can, especially with young Black girls,” she told NBC. “With the Winter Olympics, you don’t see a whole lot of diversity. So I just hope I can be someone who they can see and be like, ‘Oh, maybe I’ll get out and try one of these sports.’ So that would be awesome.”
Speaking of diversity, Jackson is not the only Royal Woman skating in Beijing.
Two-time Olympic short-track speed skater Maame Biney became the youngest skater and first Black woman to make a U.S. Olympic short-track speedskating team at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. Born in Ghana, Maame is also the second-ever African-born athlete to represent the U.S. in the Winter Olympics, according to PEOPLE.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZbHGkTr06V/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Watch the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics on NBC and Peacock. You can also stream live events on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app with a cable login. If you don’t have a cable subscription, you can watch NBC network coverage on the Olympic channel on Sling TV, YouTube TV, and Hulu + Live TV.
