EThere are a few places in the world that set the stage for becoming a great speed skater. Quite a few of them are in the Netherlands, rather few in the middle of Florida. Erin Jackson is from Ocala, a city of 60,000 in the American state about an hour and a half north of Orlando. There, the rare frost is at best viewed as a danger – for orange cultivation. And yet Ocala is now also home to an Olympic speed skating champion. As of Sunday night, Erin Jackson became the first African-American woman to become an Olympic speed skating champion. The 29-year-old won the 500 meters in 37.04 seconds, ahead of Japan’s Miho Takagi (37.12) and Angelina Golikova from the Russian Olympic Committee team (37.21). “I wish I could put into words how I feel. The medal means so much,” said Erin Jackson.
Her story is also notable because her teammate Brittany Bowe gave her her spot in early January after Jackson stumbled and finished third at the American Trials. Bowe, who also competed in Beijing on Sunday via a quota place for the American team, finished sixteenth in the Olympic race, a second behind. She said in January that Jackson deserved her spot because she was “the best in the world.” In Beijing, it turned out that Bowe, who was four years her senior, was right. Brittany Bowe is also from Ocala, as is Joey Mantia, who competes in the 1000 and 1500 meters in Beijing. All three have developed into speed skaters via inline skating.
