Black woman first time in history wins Olympic speed skating title

American speed skater Erin Jackson won the Beijing 500m and became the first black woman to win an individual gold medal at the Winter Olympics, AP reports.

Jackson, 29, who grew up in Florida, started out as a roller skater, winning the US Olympic Committee Rolling Athlete of the Year in 2013 and 2014. She skated for the first time in 2016 and after just four months of training, she managed to enter the US speed skating team, which went to the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang. There she left the qualification and became the 24th out of 31 athletes in the 500 meters.

Jackson is now considered one of the strongest speed skaters in the world, having won four of the last eight World Cups. In a statement to Business Insider, the athlete said: "If a black girl from central Florida can stand on the top step of the Olympic podium on the other side of the world as a speed skating champion, then everything in life is possible".

Gold went to Jackson is not easy: during the pre-Olympic qualifiers in the United States, she slipped and fell, and her result was not enough to guarantee to get into the team. However, Brittany Bow's friend gave her her seat.