Erin Jackson made history Friday when she became the first Black American woman to take the winning title at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup.
On Friday, Nov. 12, the 29-year-old athlete competed in the women’s 500-meter event at the Arena Lodowa in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland, and finished with a time of 37.613 seconds to clinch her first World Cup gold medal.
Jackson beat out Japan’s defending 2018 Olympic champion Nao Kodaira by 0.13 second. The competing field also included all three of the medalists who competed at the world championships in February 2021, an event Jackson didn’t compete in.
The Associated Press reported that prior to her win on Friday, Jackson’s previous best World Cup finish was in ninth place.
The Florida native told Dutch broadcaster NOS that her win was a “big surprise,” adding, “I was hoping to be in podium position.”
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SOURCE: TODAY, Francesca Gariano
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