Jackson, Erin

Jackson, Erin (1992-…), is an American speed skater and in-line skater. In-line skates, sometimes referred to by the trade name Rollerblade, are roller skates with the wheels aligned in a single row. Jackson also competed in roller derby before taking up ice speed skating. Jackson became the first Black woman to represent the United States in long-track speed skating at the Winter Olympics in 2018. Long-track races are held on an oval 333 1/3 to 400 meters (264 ½ to 437 yards) around. She became the first Black American woman to win a World Cup title for speed skating in 2021. In 2022, she became the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual speed skating event.

Jackson was a top competitor in in-line speed skating and roller derby. She transitioned to ice speed skating in 2017 to compete in the Olympics. After only four months of training on ice, she made the U.S. National Team. Jackson qualified for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. She became the first Black American woman to compete in the long-track speed skating event, for the 500-meter race.

During the 2021-2022 season, Jackson won gold in four World Cup races. She broke the American record, finishing the 500-meter race in 36.80 seconds, at the Salt Lake City World Cup in 2021. Jackson narrowly missed qualifying for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China, earning a bronze in two races at the Olympic team trials. She slipped in the 500-meter, the event for which she was ranked number one in the world. Fellow top-ranking speed skater and friend Brittany Bowe qualified for three events. Bowe stepped down in the 500-meter race to give Jackson her spot, sending Jackson to her second Olympic Games. Jackson won the gold medal in the event.

Erin Jackson was born on Sept. 19, 1992, in Ocala, Florida. Jackson began roller skating and figure skating as a child. She began competing on a figure skating team when she was 8 years old. After two years, her coaches moved away, leading her to switch to in-line speed skating in 2002. Jackson joined Inline Team USA in 2008. She competed in the Junior World Championships and Pan American Games in high school. She won gold in the 500-meter race in the 2014 Pan American Games.

While attending college, Jackson joined the roller derby team the Ocala Cannibals in 2012. She transferred to a team in Jacksonville, the New Jax City Rollers, in 2013. She competed with the team in the 2015 Women’s Flat Track Derby Association championship. She graduated from the University of Florida in 2015 with a degree in engineering. Jackson has won many in-line skating world championship medals and dozens of national championships.