(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a two-part series profiling Olympians with deep roots in the 352. Look for Part Two on Tuesday, Feb. 3.)

OCALA, FL (352today.com) – From a dream of successfully landing a triple axel in figure skating as a child, to Olympic Gold on the short track in speed skating, Ocala’s Erin Jackson’s sojourn is as interesting as it is endearing.

The 2026 Winter Olympics will be Jackson’s third Winter Olympic Games, after making her debut in 2018 in Pyeongchang, in the 500 meter.

Jackson, who specializes in the 500m, 1000m and team sprint, will be competing in women’s 500m and 1000m. The 1000m heats begin Feb. 9 and the 500m Feb. 15. Both events will be held at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium.

Figure skating may not have been Jackson’s destiny, after being introduced to the sport as an eight-year-old, but another sport ice discipline would bring her global acclaim.

Jackson has the distinction of being the first Black athlete to win a Winter Olympic Gold medal in an individual sport, accomplishing the feat in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, capturing the 500meter title in speed skating.

Like her friend, teammate and mentor, speed skating legend Brittany Bowe, Jackson was born and raised in Ocala. Jackson attended Shores Christian Academy, Howard Middle School and Forest High School, where she was a member of the Engineering and Manufacturing Institute of Technology magnet program.

An exceptional student, Jackson excelled academically graduating with honors from the University of Florida from the Materials Science and Engineering program.

It was a fortuitous meeting between Jackson’s mother Rita and inline skating coach Renee Hildebrand that would start Jackson on the path that would eventually lead her to Olympic glory. She would join Hildebrand’s team, which featured future Olympic Bronze medalists Bowe and Joey Mantia.

And much like Bowe, Jackson found her niche in inline skating, winning gold in the 500m inline skating race at the 2008-2009 junior world championships. The success continued for Jackson, who would go on to add to her already impressive resume by winning gold in the 500m at the 2014 Pan American Championships. These accolades resulted in Jackson being named the United States Olympic Committee Female Athlete of the Year for Roller Sports in 2012 and 2013.

Not just limited to inline skating or speed skating, Jackson has been recognized for being one of the world’s fittest athletes, women or men. She has participated in the rough and tumble world of roller derby, competing for the Jacksonville Roller Girls of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, where she once again earned plaudits, this time as the Most Valuable Player at the 2014 WFTDA Division 1 Playoffs.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Jackson returned to the ice in 2016. After only a limited amount of time as a speed skater, she found herself qualifying for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, with only four months of experience in the sport.

Jackson began to make her presence felt on the World Cup circuit, and by Nov. 2021, she had won her first 500m speed skating World Cup races in Poland–not just winning, but establishing two track records, making her the first African American to win in the World Cup. This seemed to herald what would happen a few months later when Jackson accomplished something that was a watershed moment in Olympic and U.S. team history in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, something that in previous years no one would’ve anticipated or expected, but with Jackson’s arrival and success in the sport it became a distinct possibility that she would achieve the unthinkable.

The opportunity she had been working for almost eluded her when she slipped during the U.S. Trials in the 500m, falling to third. But the winner of the event, her close friend and fellow Ocalan, Brittany Bowe, understood the importance of Jackson being on the team–that Jackson had a much better chance to medal–and selflessly gave up her slot. It proved to be the right decision; Jackson took home the gold medal in the 500m, making history as the first Black woman to win an individual gold medal in the Winter Olympics, a statement that resounded loudly, with a spirit of unyielding resilience.

The global stage seems to suit Jackson as she won a silver medal in team sprint in 2023 at the World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships. Gold in the 500m seems to become a part of Jackson’s persona– she took top honors with a gold medal performance in the 500m at the Four Continents Speed Skating Championships in 2024 and would achieve the feat again later in the year.

If Jackson’s performance in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Milwaukee this month is an indicator of what’s to come in Milan, the U.S. team can expect great things. In the long track competition, Jackson placed first in the Women’s 500m and 1000m races, earning her roster spot in an event that emphasizes the spirit of high idealism at what the legendary sportswriter Leonard Koppett described as the “Greatest Worldwide Sports Festival.”