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Sports
Erin Jackson becomes the first Black woman to win Olympic speed skating gold
By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor
It may seem paradoxical that a Black woman born and raised in Ocala, Florida, where the average temperature in February is 73 degrees, would become a cold weather, winter sport champion. But that is exactly what Erin Jackson has achieved.
On Sunday at the Beijing Winter Olympics, the 29-yearold who graduated with honors from the University of Florida’s Materials Science & Engineering program, became the first Black woman to win an Olympic medal in speed skating when she captured gold in the 500-meters.
Jackson broke a nearly 20year gold medal drought by United States women in speedskating events. Prior to Jackson’s victory, Bonnie Blair was the last American to stand atop a podium, also earning first place in the 500-meters in 1994. Jackson’s time of 37.04 was 0.08 seconds better than Miho Takagi of Japan, who took silver, and 0.17 seconds ahead of bronze medalist Angelina Golikova of the Russian Olympic Committee.
Jackson’s historic moment was potentially undermined by her fall to the ice during the U.S. Olympic qualifying trials in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in early January. Coming in third, she initially failed to make the team despite being ranked No. 1 in the world in the 500-meters. “I messed up. It’s definitely on me,” she said to the USA Network after the mishap. But teammate Brittany Bowe, who had qualified in 500-, 1000- and 1500-meters, subsequently offered her spot in the 500-meters to Jackson in an act of compassion.
“She has earned the right to compete in her marquee event at the Olympics,” said Bowe from Beijing, “and it was an honor to give her that spot for the opportunity to race for gold for Team USA.”
Jackson became only the second Black skater to medal at an Olympics in speedskating, joining Shani Davis, who won gold in the men’s 1000-meters in both the 2006 and 2010 Olympics. Leading up to Sunday’s milestone, Jackson also had the distinction of being the first Black woman to win a World Cup AMNEWS race when she clocked the fastest time in the 500-meters last No01/06/22 0 vember in Poland. She surpassed that with her vic-74470 22784 7 tory in China on the sport’s biggest stage. “I cried immediately,” she said to reporters following the conclusion of the competition. “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.” An elite in-line skater, Jackson was a gold medalist in the discipline—more commonly known as rollerblading—in the 500-meters at 2008-’09 Junior World Championships. She continued to ascend and was named the Female Athlete of the Year for Roller Sports in 2012 and 2013 by the United States Olympic Committee. Jackson transitioned to the ice in earnest less than six months before the 2018 winter Olympics held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, qualified for the U.S. team in the 500-meters, and finished 24th among 31 speedskaters. Figure Skating in Harlem receives prestigious IOC honor
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Erin Jackson of the United States hoists an American flag after winning the gold medal in the speedskating women's 500-meter race at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022, in Beijing (AP Photo/Sue O) 01054
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Two Figure Skating in Harlem synchro teams recently won bronze medals at a competition in Lake Placid
By LOIS ELFMAN
Special to the AmNews
As the Olympic Winter Games got underway in Beijing, Figure Skating in Harlem (FSH) received some incredible news. FSH, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as a gender equality advocate and honored as the winner for the Americas of the Women and Sports Award. IOC president Thomas Bach said the IOC’s mission includes advancing gender equality on and off the fields of play.
“We are thrilled,” said FSH founder and CEO Sharon Cohen. “Certainly, we’re humbled and honored to receive this recognition on the global stage. It’s a nod to the inspiration of our girls, our team and the work that we’ve been doing for a quarter of a century now to be on the forefront of inclusion and gender equality.
“We are about something larger than skating; it’s really about developing young female leaders of color,” she added.
Cohen hopes that seeing the girls of FSH skate may inspire girls and boys of color to take up the sport and pursue it as far as their talents and passions take them. “Certainly, we hope it will inspire lots of participation so that among them a student can rise to the elite ranks,” said Cohen. “You have to see it to be it. We all want to see more representation in the sport. It begins by creating more access.” After having its last two annual galas virtually, FSH is returning to in-person this spring for its silver anniversary benefit gala, “Celebrating 25 Years of Excellence and Sisterhood,” to be held April 25 at Gotham Hall. It is expected that newly crowned Olympic gold medalist Nathan Chen will be in attendance. The honorees include legendary singersongwriter Valerie Simpson.
Before that, FSH will have its annual ice show at Riverbank, and there will be an audience (must be fully vaccinated) on March 19 and 20. It’s called “City of Dreams, A Skating Love Letter to New York City.”
“Omicron was challenging, but we pushed through it,” said Cohen. “Our girls just competed in Lake Placid and got two bronze medals for two different teams (FSH has several Harlem Ice synchronized skating teams). They had a wonderful time. They got a tour of Lake Placid (site of the 1980 Winter Olympics), went snowshoeing and skated at the [speed skating] oval. It was an amazing weekend.”
AMNEWS 02/03/22(Photo courtesy of FSH)
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