Source: Dean Mouhtaropoulos / Getty
29-year-old Florida native Erin Jackson makes history in the Beijing Winter Olympics, becoming the first Black woman to win Team USA a gold medal in speed skating. Jackson earned her first Olympic medal in the women’s 500-meter speed skating race, an event Team USA has not won since 1994. Jackson is also the first Black woman to make it on to Team USA as a speed skater. This opportunity at gold was almost lost though. Despite being ranked No. 1 in the world, Jackson stumbled during the Olympic trials, thwarting her bid for the games. But in a tremendous act of friendship and generosity, teammate Brittany Bowe, offered Jackson her spot in Beijing, saying it was “the right thing to do.”
