Erin Jackson was the first Black female athlete of Team USA to win gold in speed skating at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the first to win the race since 1994.

Jackson was the first Black woman to bear the United States Flag at the Winter Olympics.

Jackson first made her mark in women’s sports in competitive in-line skating and won 47 international and domestic titles and 12 non-Olympic medals.  

Erin Jackson continues to compete in speed skating and will compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics for Team USA.

“Parents will send me videos of their kids skating and saying ‘oh my kid could be the next Erin Jackson’ but I encourage them to be whoever they are and be themselves and be great at that.”

Erin Jackson Interview with 9News

Background

Erin Jackson grew up in Ocala, Florida, a city traditionally known for its competitive equestrian sports, where she was raised by her parents, Tracy and Rita Jackson. From an early age, Jackson balanced multiple athletic pursuits. At ten years old, she joined the Ocala Speed Inline Racing Team, a competitive inline skating club coached by Renee Hildbrand, while also competing as a track athlete at Forest High School in her hometown. The combination of speed skating and sprint training helped shape the explosive power and endurance that would define her athletic career.

Jackson quickly distinguished herself on the international competitive landscape for inline skating, earning her first major non-Olympic gold medal at the 2008–2009 Junior World Championships in the 550-meter race. Her success continued throughout her teenage years, and in recognition of her sustained excellence, the United States Olympic Committee named her Female Athlete of the Year for roller sports in 2012, 2013, and 2015. Before transitioning to ice speed skating in 2016, Jackson had compiled an extraordinary record for inline skating, including 47 national titles and 12 medals at world championship competitions.

That transition proved historic. Jackson and two of her former Ocala Speed teammates, Brittany Bowe and Joey Mantia, went on to become Olympic gold medalists, helping transform Ocala’s identity from a city known primarily for equestrian sports into an unexpected and influential center for speed skating excellence.

Figure 1. Childhood photo of Erin Jackson with teammates Bowe and Mantia. Source

Olympic Career

It did not take long for Jackson to dominate the speed skating ice rinks. Just four months after her transition from inline skating to speed skating, Jackson competed in the Olympic trials for the sport and earned her a place on Team USA for the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang (Olympics, n.d.). While Jackson did not place high enough to earn a medal, she ranked 24th out of 31 athletes in the 500-meter race at 26 years old. Her performance at PyeongChang in 2018 did not mark the end of her Olympic career as she set her sights for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
 

Figure 2. Erin Jackson races in the women’s 500-meter Division during the first day of the ISU World Cup Speed Skating competition in Poland on December 7, 2018.
^{Photo credit: Boris Streubel/Getty Images.}

Jackson continued to compete in the 500-meter event on the International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup circuit in the months leading up to the 2021 Olympic Trials. During the World Cup season, she earned two gold medal victories in Poland, a historic achievement that made her the first Black American woman to win a speed skating World Cup title (ESPN, 2021). She went on to place sixth in Salt Lake City, Utah, and finished fifth and third in competitions held in Canada. Together, these strong international results established Jackson as a serious competitor and speed skating icon.

In February 2021, Jackson advanced to the U.S. Olympic Trials for the USA Olympic 500-meter speed skating team, held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There, she competed against with Brittany Bowe, her former inline skating teammate and fellow Olympian, in a highly competitive race for an Olympic seat.
 

Figure 3. Erin Jackson slips in Trials 500. Watch on YouTube.

During her race, Jackson suffered a slip on the ice resulting in a final time of 38.24 seconds; 0.43 slower than Bowe’s 37.81 seconds. Jackson’s time placed her third among her fellow competitors, just shy of the second place needed in order to earn a spot on the USA Speed Skating team. However, in an incredible gesture of friendship Bowe was quoted, “Although I won that race, I didn’t feel victorious at all. My heart and mind just started racing as to like, ‘How are we going to get Erin onto this team?’” (Olympics, 2022). The same day, Bowe relinquished her first-place win and the corresponding spot on the U.S. Speed Skating team, which allowed Jackson to take her place.

On February 13th, 2022, in Beijing, Jackson was poised to race against 82 women’s athletes from around the globe in her second Winter Olympics. Jackson raced against Takagi Miho of Japan at 7:00 PM in front of an estimated crowd of 200 to 400 spectators. In 37.04 seconds, Jackson became the first Black woman to win a Winter Olympic Gold Medal in speed skating and the first American to win the race since 1994.

When interviewed about the victory, Jackson said, “I won the medal during Black History Month, so that just kind of added to, I guess, the energy of everything” (Team USA, 2023). Jackson went on to say that she hopes her victory, “...has an effect. Hopefully, we’ll see more minorities, especially in the USA, getting out and trying these winter sports” (PBS, 2022). Erin Jackson will compete in the 500m and 1,000m speed skating race on Team USA for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics and the first Black woman to bear the United States flag at the opening ceremony.