Erin Jackson wins 500m speed skating gold at Winter Olympics after teammate gave up spot

Erin Jackson reacts after her 500m victory.

US speed skater Erin Jackson won the women’s 500m gold medal at the Winter Olympics in a time of 37.04 on Sunday.

Jackson almost missed competing in the 500m at the Olympics after she had slipped during qualifying trials, but her teammate and friend Brittany Bowe gave up her own spot to ensure the world No. 1 was able to go to Beijing — and it paid off.

The 29-year-old Jackson is the first US woman to win a speed skating gold at the Olympics since Bonnie Blair did so in 1994, as well as the first Black woman to win an individual medal in speed skating at the Olympics, according to Team USA.

She finished 0.08 seconds ahead of Japan’s Miho Takagi in second and 0.17 seconds ahead of the Russian Olympic Committee’s Angelina Golikova in third.

“I cried immediately, 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,” Jackson told reporters.
She added: “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.”

Read more: