Sport: Long-track speed skating
Country: USA
Erin Jackson has a thing for making history. In 2018, she became the first Black woman to qualify for the US Olympic team in long-track speed skating, ultimately finishing 24th in the 500m at Pyeongchang. This year might be a different story. In November 2021, Jackson became the first Black American woman to win a speed skating world cup title, but that promptly became old news when she went on to win again, and again, and again, racking up four 500m world cup wins in the first five races of the season. A slip at the Olympic Trials threatened to derail Jackson's Olympic plans, but her friend and fellow skater Brittany Bowe gave Jackson her 500m spot, saying, "Erin has earned her right to be on this 500m team. She is ranked number one in the world, and no one is more deserving than her to get an opportunity to bring Team USA home a medal."
