Erin Jackson just secured a gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, making history at the same time.
On February 13, the 29-year-old speed skater became the first Black woman to medal in her sport at the Olympics. If that wasn’t monumental enough, the Team USA champion took the first place spot in the women’s 500m with an incredible run time of 37.04, finishing 0.08 seconds ahead of silver medalist Miho Takagi of Japan and 0.17 seconds faster than Russia Olympic Committee’s Angelina Golikova.
“Remember the name,” Team USA shared on Instagram. “@speedyj is the first Black woman to win an individual medal in speedskating at the #WinterOlympics.”
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Following the event, Jackson said she was overwhelmed with emotion. “I cried immediately,” Jackson told reporters, per CNN. “It was just a big release of emotion. A lot of shock, a lot of relief, and a lot of happiness. I haven’t fully processed everything quite yet, but it just feels amazing.”
She continued, “I had a little misstep on the backstretch, but I just tried to, I wouldn’t say recover, because it wasn’t anything big, but just tried to continue skating.”
According to CNN, Jackson almost didn’t make it to Beijing this year after coming in third at the U.S. trials in January. While only the top two are guaranteed a spot on the Olympic team, fellow Team USA speed skater Brittany Bowe offered up her spot to Jackson after coming in first. (Later, Team USA gained a third qualifier in the 500m, and Bowe was able to compete. She came in 16th.)
“Right after the race, I knew that if it came down to me relinquishing my spot for her to be named on the team, I would do that because she deserves it,” Bowe told reporters last week. “She has earned the right to compete in her marquee event at the Olympics, and it was an honor to give her that spot for the opportunity to race for gold for Team USA.”
Following Jackson’s win, Bowe told , “She just showed the world why she belongs here.”
With her victory, Erin Jackson also became the first woman on Team USA to take home an Olympic gold medal in speed skating since 1994’s Bonnie Blair.
