Erin Jackson became the first Black woman to win a gold medal in an individual event at the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. Her path to get there is a Hollywood script that would be returned and rewritten because no one would believe it.
Jackson grew up in Ocala, Florida. Before the end of high school, she won numerous medals in inline speedskating at the junior world championships. With such a talent for speed on skates, it seems pretty obvious that her next phase in skating would be… the roller derby. Yep, by 2012, sure enough, she transitioned to roller derby to become a star with the Jacksonville Roller Girls.
The next path for Jackson? College. She earned her bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering, as well as an associate’s degree in computer science. Like any typical college aged student, she experimented and tried new things. Her big experiment came in 2016.
Jackson: First Time On Ice in 2016; Olympic Speedskater by 2018
There is an Instagram video of Jackson’s first time on the ice to speed skate. Yep, you read that right, a champion inline skater, roller derby player apparently that never touched a sheet of ice with speed skates before. Apparently if you grow up in Florida and live over an hour from an ice rink that makes sense.
But here is what does not make sense for the average athlete: How did Jackson become the first Black woman to win a gold medal in an individual event at the 2022 Winter Olympics less than six years after first touching the ice?
Even more mind boggling is that she made the Olympics less than two years from first touching the ice. The timeline:
- February 2017: First time that she tried speed skating
- September 2017: Made the switch from inline skating to (ice) speed skating
- January 2018: Qualified for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, becoming the first Black woman on the U.S. Olympic long track speed skating team
- February 2018: Jackson finished 24th out of 31 skaters in the 500m Olympic race.
The First Step to Speed Skating on the Ice: Affordability
When Jackson relives her unconventional path to Olympic speed skating, she remembers her first obstacle: Buying the equipment.
If you plan to become a world class speed skater, the suit is just one large expense. Skating boots can be over $2,000. Several sets of blades are needed at one grand a pop. Renting ice time, travel, gloves, goggles, well, you get the idea. For most, our Olympic dream ends because we have no talent. If that is not the case, the costs can do you in.
“If I didn’t have the help in the beginning with that sport, I wouldn’t have had a future in it. It’s expensive. But I was lucky to have people like at the rink right over there, who would donate skates and equipment and wheels,” she said.
It just shows how far Jackson has come in a relatively short time.
Next on the list: The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Next in the series about Erin Jackson: The historic gold medal won at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics almost did not happen due to a fall in a qualifying event. An inspirational gesture from a childhood friend guaranteed her a spot on the team and made the journey extra special.
The first story in the Erin Jackson series: 71 Days Until The Winter Olympics: Be Thankful For Erin Jackson – The Reasons Revealed
