Ocala speed skater and Olympic gold medalist Erin Jackson now has her own bobblehead.
During last year’s Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, Jackson won the women’s 500-meter speed skating event with a time of 37.04 seconds. Jackson became the first American to win the event since 1994 as well as the first Black American woman to take home an Olympic speed skating medal.
Prior to the start of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, Jackson had a costly slip during the women’s 500-meter qualifying race that nearly kept her from making the trip to Beijing. Thanks to the generosity of teammate and fellow Ocalan Brittany Bowe, Jackson was added to the Olympic roster when Bowe relinquished her spot in the event. Jackson made the most of her opportunity with the historic first-place finish.
An Ocala native, Jackson attended Howard Middle School and graduated from Forest High School in 2011. She then earned a degree in materials science and engineering from the University of Florida in 2015.
Jackson’s speed skating career officially kicked off in 2017. The following year, she became the first Black American woman to make a U.S. Olympic long track speed skating team.
In celebration of Jackson and her accomplishments on the ice, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum recently unveiled the new 7-inch-tall Erin Jackson Bobblehead. The bobbleheads will be individually numbered from one to 2,022.
According to the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, the high-quality bobblehead was produced in conjunction with Jackson.
The Erin Jackson Bobblehead costs $30 and is available for pre-order online. While an exact shipping date has not yet been confirmed, each order is expected to ship in May of 2023.