The road to the Olympics runs through Ocala once again, with two hometown heroines having officially secured an opportunity to compete for gold in Italy next month.
Speed skaters Erin Jackson and Brittany Bowe both officially qualified to compete in the 1,000-meter women’s races at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Officially the XXV Winter Olympic Games, or Milano Cortina 2026, the event is being held jointly by the city of Milan and the Cortina d’Ampezzo ski resort from February 6 to February 22.
On Saturday, Jackson and Bowe finished first and second, respectively, in the 1000m women’s speed ice skating event at the United States Olympic Trials, which were held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jackson finished with a blistering time of 1:14.62, while Bowe finished just 0.39 seconds behind (1:15.01).
In a post-race interview with NBC Sports, Jackson indicated that the victory was a big relief, as she has been battling injuries for the past several years.
“Just a few days ago, I wasn’t sure if I was gonna be able to race it at all with that hamstring injury, so I’m just grateful to be out here and really excited to be on the team,” said Jackson in the interivew.
Born in Ocala, Jackson began inline skating at the age of 10 and first tried speed skating in 2017 at the Utah Olympic Oval in the United States of America. Just five years later, she claimed gold in the 500-meter distance at the Beijing Winter Olympics. With that victory, Jackson became the first Black woman to win an individual gold at the Winter Olympics.
Jackson has already qualified to compete in the 500-meter race at the upcoming Winter Olympic Games, which will be her third. The Ocalan will look to follow up her record-setting 2022 performance and bring home additional hardware.
Bowe, who is retiring at the end of the season, has now qualified for her fourth Olympic games. She is currently the world record holder in the 1,000-meter distance and has amassed dozens of victories and medals over her illustrious career.
Bowe will look to extend her Olympic medal streak to three, having won a bronze in the team pursuit event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and another bronze in the 1000-meter race during the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.
Jackson and Bowe have both competed and consistently won at the highest level (World Cup) since their medal wins in Beijing. This season, Jackson has earned multiple top-3 finishes at International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup events. Bowe has not finished lower than 6th at any of the four World Cup events in which she has competed this season.
The ISU World Cup Speed Skating series is comprised of multiple events and races that showcase the abilities of the best athletes in the world.
Jackson and Bowe also had strong showings in the previous World Cup season, which ended earlier this year. Jackson fought through injury and strung together enough performances to finish first at her distance (500-meter), and Bowe earned multiple medals en route to a second-place finish in the 1,000-meter distance.
In February, Jackson claimed victory in two 500-meter women’s speed skating races at the ISU races held in Poland.
Earlier that month, Bowe and Jackson both earned multiple medals at a World Cup event on their home turf in the United States. Before that, the women claimed bronze during a team event at the ISU World Cup in Beijing.
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