When speed skater Erin Jackson unexpectedly failed to qualify for the Winter Olympics, team-mate Brittany Bowe stepped in to rescue her long-time friend's Beijing dreams. It was an incredible gesture of friendship.
Jackson, the world's No.1 ranked 500m speed skater, unexpectedly failed to make the US team after slipping and finishing third in her country’s trials in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Bowe, who specialises in longer-distance races but had finished first in 500m qualifying, gave up her position to her teammate, Erin.
Bowe and Jackson, who last year became the first Black American woman to win a World Cup speed skating race, both grew up in Ocala, Florida and have known each other a long time.
On Twitter, Jackson thanked her friend, writing: "I'm incredibly grateful and humbled by the kindness of Brittany Bowe in helping me to secure a chance at reaching my goals in Beijing 2022. Definitely not the way I imagined qualifying for my second Olympic team, but I guess I had to one-up my story from the 2018 Trials."
On breaks through the excessively many barriers she had to overcome Jackson, who four years ago became the first Black woman to represent the United States in speedskating at the Olympics, is now the first Black woman to win a speedskating gold medal for the United States.
“I came here to win,” the Ms Jackson said.
“It has been a roller coaster. It’s been a wild ride, but I think that makes it even sweeter.”
Bowe said: “I want this moment to be all about her. She’s done this, she went to the start line on her own and she skated the best 500 of her life to be Olympic champion.”
“There was no-one's more deserving than her to get an opportunity to bring home Team USA a gold medal." Now Erin wants to see her team-mate, Brittany, “with a gold medal around her neck”.
