Black Girl Magic: The Ice Belongs to Erin Jackson
There’s a new kind of legend in winter sports. Her name is Erin Jackson, and she’s gliding through expectations, breaking barriers, and still crushing it at the highest level. Erin didn’t grow up anywhere near an ice rink. Born and raised in Ocala, Florida, where heat and humidity rule, Jackson found her way to the […] The post Black Girl Magic: The Ice Belongs to Erin Jackson first appeared on Upscale Magazine.
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There’s a new kind of legend in winter sports. Her name is Erin Jackson, and she’s gliding through expectations, breaking barriers, and still crushing it at the highest level.
Erin didn’t grow up anywhere near an ice rink. Born and raised in Ocala, Florida, where heat and humidity rule, Jackson found her way to the top of one of the least diverse sports in the world for Black women and girls—speed skating.
Long before she ever touched the ice, roller skating was her passion. She started inline at 10, and the rest is history. With 47 national titles and 12 world championship medals under her belt, she further proved why she is the Queen of the Ice.
History was made on Feb 13, 2022, by winning the women’s 500m speed skating gold medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics, and became the first American woman to do so since 1994. Although Jackson might not have taken home another gold at the 2026 Milano Cortina Games, she’s still nowhere near losing her place as one of the world’s most inspiring athletes. On Feb 15, the defending 500m Olympic champion finished fifth in a race decided by razor‑thin margins. Even without another medal, her impact and excellence remain undeniable.
We’ve seen many athletes come forward and discuss mental health when competing. Erin shared with Sports Illustrated what it’s really like to prepare under that kind of pressure.
“I feel like it actually helps me… I’m normally really calm going into a competition. So, yeah, I guess I like pressure. A loss isn’t this big failure… it’s something I can learn from, and it makes me hungry to come back.”
Erin Jackson, in Sports Illustrated
Her story is also deeply rooted in family. Jackson was raised by her father, Tracy Jackson, an Army veteran and retired fire‑truck builder, and her mother Rita Jackson, a pharmacy technician who passed away in 2011 while she was in high school. Jackson has spoken about wishing her mother could see how far she’s come. We know her mother would be so proud of her.
Winter sports have long been some of the least diverse spaces in athletics. At U.S. ski resorts, only about 1% of surveyed participants identified as Black in the 2023–24 season, according to Yahoo.
Jackson hopes to inspire a wave of Black girls to step into speed skating. She’s honest about not wanting to be the only one on the ice.
“It was just really surprising, I guess, because I felt like, ‘How could that be?’” she said in an interview with The Associated Press at the U.S. Speedskating trials ahead of the Milan Cortina Games. “When you think about how many Winter Olympics we’ve had, I just thought it was really strange. I hope people can see my story and the stories of other Black women in winter sports and then, hopefully, we’ll have more coming up soon.”
As we wrap up Black History Month, one thing is clear: Jackson will be remembered for years to come for her poise, her perseverance, and her grace under pressure. She’ll continue to glide into new accolades, because that’s what trailblazers do. Black history isn’t seasonal, and neither is Black achievement.
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The post Black Girl Magic: The Ice Belongs to Erin Jackson first appeared on Upscale Magazine.
