MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — Erin Jackson didn’t know she was making history.
The Olympic champion speedskater is well aware her sport remains overwhelmingly white. All she has to do is look around the rink. She also knows how few Black athletes there are at the Winter Games. Again, all the two-time Olympian has to do is look around.
But the first Winter Olympics was more than a century ago. Surely Jackson’s gold medal, in the 500 meters at the Beijing Olympics in 2022, couldn’t have been the first by a Black woman in an individual sport at the Winter Games.
It was, though.
“I didn’t realize it until I saw it in a headline,” Jackson said. “In the history of the Winter Olympics, I thought there had to have been plenty of other people. So it was pretty interesting to hear that.
“Hopefully we’ll have a second and a third and a fourth coming pretty quickly.”
Jackson already knows she wants to have an active role in making that happen when she’s done competing. Among other things, she’s considering creating a scholarship program because speedskating is expensive, especially for those who are just starting out.
For now, however, Jackson has more history to make. Like joining Bonnie Blair as the only U.S. woman to repeat as Olympic champion in speed skating, perhaps.
Jackson got her start in inline skating, winning dozens of national titles and multiple medals at the world championships. Because inline isn’t an Olympic sport, many athletes make the transition to speedskating, something that initially held no interest for Jackson.
“I hate time trials and I hate being cold,” the Florida native said, laughing. “Now all I do is time trials in the cold, which I find kind of funny. But I’m having a blast.”
Jackson began speedskating in 2017 and, four months later, qualified for the Pyeongchang Olympics. By Beijing, she was No. 1 in the world in the 500 meters.
Jackson is an engineering graduate — materials science, to be exact — and part of what captivated her about her new sport was figuring out the process. Inline and speedskating might seem similar, but mastering the differences is what separates the good from the great.
Speedskating requires sharper angles than inline, and a lower body position during races. Jackson said she had to break down her technique, identifying the habits she’d formed in inline and deciding whether they would help her in speedskating or hold her back. Then she had to break herself of the latter and create new habits for speedskating.
“I just learned about humbling myself,” said Jackson, who still inlines in the off-season. “Coming from the top of one sport and starting over with a new sport, it was a really big challenge. But I really welcomed the challenge and it was just really exciting to be able to try to figure out a new sport.
“I guess it happened relatively quickly, but for me it seemed like it took forever,” Jackson said. “And it seems like I’m still learning and growing every time I step out there.”
Jackson, 32, was ranked No. 1 in the 500 meters again last year, her second World Cup season title. She began this year with a bit of an injury, and is taking care not to aggravate it. Still, she won the 500-meter title at the Four Continents Championships in November.
She’s also won one World Cup race, and was second in both 500s at the World Cup here earlier this month.
“I’m really focusing on playing it safe. Getting through this season and then being able to really rehab everything and come out next year strong,” Jackson said. “Because next year is the real deal. So this year, yeah, definitely just trying to keep everything happy and trying not to get too old, too fast.”
And not just for herself.
Growing up, Jackson said she didn’t think about being the only Black skater. But she remembers being excited when she’d see other skaters who looked like her, so she knows what a powerful message it sends to Black girls and young women who see her at the Olympics.
“It’s really cool to read the messages from the moms, saying, `Oh my daughter saw you skating and now she wants to try it,’” Jackson said.
“It’s a really special feeling,” she added. “I always want to be a good example, anyway. But just having that extra level, it really keeps me focused and wanting to be someone that other people can look to.”
By being the first, Jackson is ensuring she won’t be the last.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.