BEIJING — Erin Jackson has become the first Black woman to win a speedskating medal at the Winter Olympics. And a gold one, at that.
Jackson won the 500 meters with a time of 37.04 seconds Sunday, giving the Americans their first speedskating medal of the Beijing Games.
This one carried much more than national pride. The 29-year-old Jackson joins fellow American Shani Davis as the only Black athletes to win speedskating medals at the Olympics. Davis won gold in the men's 1,000 meters and silver in the 1,500 meters at the 2006 Olympics in Turin.