Ocala speedskater wins gold, bronze at the Pan American Games in Chile | PHOTOS

OCALA, FL (352today.com) – An Ocala woman raced away with a gold-medal win at the Pan American Games which just wrapped up in Santiago, Chile.

Speed skater Erin Jackson won the gold medal in the women’s +500-meters on Sunday, Nov. 5. She crossed the finish line with a time of 45.518 seconds, edging out competitor Maria Arias from Ecuador by just .114 seconds. Geiny Pajaro from Colombia finished third.

Jackson also won bronze in the 200-meters time trial on Saturday, Nov. 4, finishing just .285 seconds behind El Salvador’s Ivonne Gallardo in that contest. Colombia’s Geiny Pajaro placed second, beating Jackson by .036 seconds.

Jackson is the first Black woman to win a Winter Olympic gold medal in an individual sport. She earned her way into the history books with the women’s 500m speed skating event in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

The 31-year-old is a graduate of Forest High School and also a 2015 graduate of the University of Florida where she earned a degree from the Materials Science & Engineering program.

From left, Ecuador Maria Arias, Erin Jackson of the United States and Colombia Geiny Pajaro pose at the podium of the speed skating women’s +500-meters at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023. Courtesy: AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa

31-year-old Erin Jackson is a graduate of Ocala’s Forest High School. Courtesy: AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa

From left, Erin Jackson of the United States, Colombia’s Geiny Pajaro, and Ecuador Maria Arias compete in the speed skating women’s +500-meters final at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023. Courtesy: AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa

El Salvador’s Ivonne Gallardo, Colombia’s Geiny Pajaro and Erin Jackson of the United Stares pose at the podium of the speed skating women’s 200-meters time trial at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. Courtesy: AP Photo/Matias Delacroix