Erin Jackson became the first Black woman to win a speedskating medal at the Winter Olympics.
A gold one, at that.
Jackson won the 500 meters Sunday with a time of 37.04 seconds, giving the American speedskating program its first medal of the Beijing Games and first individual medal since 2010.
But this one meant much more than national pride.
The 29-year-old Jackson, a former inline skater who switched to the ice shortly before the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, joined fellow American Shani Davis as the only Black athletes to win long-track speedskating medals at the Olympics.
Now, she wants others to follow their path.
