In the moments before she joined the 2018 US Olympic speed skating team, Erin Jackson wondered if she could climb onto the ice without falling. She was on the way to transitioning from figure skating and after only four months in skateboarding, she still finds some of the best points in the sport challenging.
“I was a mess,” she says with a laugh. “I needed someone to lift me up.”
Jackson shocked everyone – especially herself – with her performance during the playoffs. She secured a place on the team and viewed her trip to Pyeongchang, where she finished 24th out of 31 in the 500m, as a learning opportunity. Jackson, 29, is not looking forward to continuing her gaming education; She is looking forward to winning. In 2021, she finished first in four of this year’s 500 World Cup races – becoming the first black woman to reach the podium – and took two more medals. He is now the United States’ best hope for a medal in the sport.