Erin Jackson became the first Black American to win an individual gold medal at the Winter Olympics in 2022.
She is also the first Olympic flag bearer to have competed in roller derby, a sport she started in 2009.
Jackson is set to defend her Olympic title in the 500-meter speed skating event at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.
MILAN — Speed skater Erin Jackson has made Olympics history again.
At the 2022 Beijing Games, she became the first Black American to win a gold medal in an individual event at the Winter Olympics. Now, she begins the 2026 Milan Cortina Games with another distinction.
Unofficially, at the opening ceremony on Friday, Feb. 6, Jackson became the first flag bearer to have competed in roller derby. You know, the sport where women lace up roller skates, strap on a helmet and a steely gaze and hit the track for bumping-and-bruising team duels.
More than a decade ago, before Jackson started skating on ice, she joined the Jacksonville RollerGirls not far from where she grew up in Florida.
‘If you haven’t seen a roller derby event, I really recommend it,’ Jackson, 31, said in October at the Team USA media summit in New York.
Her career on the wooden track started in 2009, and she was rolling as recently as 2023. Then she hung up the roller skates before ramping up preparations for her second Winter Olympics while determined to keep her body intact.
‘I decided for my health and for my back safety that I should probably put that on hold for a little bit,’ she said, then making it clear she hasn’t abandoned her Jacksonville RollerGirl teammates. ‘ … I’d love to get back to it.’
‘Never seen her sweat’
Stephanie Gentz was Jackson’s roommate on road trips with the Jacksonville RollerGirls. She witnessed what most of the sports world missed.
A future Olympic champion made roller derby her domain.
‘She’s able to turn her mind on and just do the job and get it done correctly no matter what,’ Gentz said of Jackson. ‘I’ve never seen her break under any high-pressure situation. I’ve just never seen her sweat or get nervous.
‘She would always be the person that we would put out on the line if we needed to get the job done efficiently and correctly. She always rose to the occasion.’
Sound familiar? In the women’s 500 meters final at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Jackson triumphed. Here, she will try to defend her Olympic title in the 500 meters and also compete in the 1,000 meters.
Off and on the ice, Jackson can come across as strictly business, Gentz noted. But the Jacksonville RollerGirls discovered a different side of Jackson.
‘We’d go back and chat about the games and just laugh about some of the dumbest stuff that we did on the track,’ Gentz said. ‘And she was able to laugh at herself. It’s really good to have a teammate that can do that.
‘She won a gold medal. But she’s able to laugh at herself..’
The cameradie clearly appealed to Jackson.
‘It’s the only team sport I’ve done,’ she said, ‘so it’s just amazing to have that community and just have like people to share the track with.’
Should roller derby be an Olympic sport?
Even at 33, Jackson likely would be the front-runner to serve as America’s team captain if roller derby becomes an Olympic sport. And if you think the idea of roller derby in the Olympics is silly, well, don’t forget that break dancing was part of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
‘I think roller derby should be an Olympic sport,’ Jackson said. ‘I think it’s really exciting.’
Not to mention a fast-growing sport, according to Jackson.
‘I think COVID kind of dampened that a little bit, but it’s on its way back,’ she said. ‘So yeah, I definitely love to see that in the Games.’