American speedskater Erin Jackson made history on Sunday when she won a gold medal in the 500-meter race at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.
Jackson, 29, became the first African-American woman to win a gold medal in speedskating. It was also the first speedskating medal of any kind from a Black woman. Jackson won the event in 37.04 seconds, thus becoming the first American women to win the 500-meters since 1994.
The first African-American athlete to win a medal in speedskating was Shani Davis, who won gold in the men’s 1,500-meters and silver in the 1,000-meters at the Olympics in Turin, Italy in 2006.
Jackson is the No. 1 skater in the world but she stumbled during the Olympic Trials and did not qualify for her signature event. Teammate Brittany Bowe gave up her spot in the 500-meters to Jackson, who made the most of her second chance to take the gold medal.
