Erin Jackson becomes 1st Black woman to win Olympic speed-skating medal

Erin Jackson has become the first Black woman to win a speed-skating medal at the Winter Olympics.

And a gold one, at that.

Jackson won the 500 metres Sunday with a time of 37.04 seconds, giving the American speed-skating program its first speed-skating medal of the Beijing Games and first individual medal since 2010.

But this one meant much more than national pride.

The 29-year-old Jackson, a former inline skater who switched to the ice shortly before the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, joined fellow American Shani Davis as the only Black athletes to win speed-skating medals at the Olympics.

WATCH | Erin Jackson wins speed-skating gold:

Now, she wants others to follow their path.

"Hopefully, this has an effect," Jackson said. "Hopefully, we'll see more minorities, especially in the U.S.A, getting out and trying these winter sports."

The silver went to Miho Takagi of Japan, while Angelina Golikova of the Russian Olympic Committee team took the bronze.

Jackson's gold came after the native of balmy Ocala, Fla., slipped at the U.S. trials and shockingly finished third, putting her spot on the Olympic team in jeopardy.

But teammate Brittany Bowe, another Ocala skater who finished first at the trials, gave up her spot on the team to ensure Jackson would get to compete in Beijing.

"She made a really big sacrifice for me," Jackson said. "I'll be grateful to her forever."

As it turned out, the Americans received a third slot in the 500 when the final allocations were made, so Bowe got to skate as well. She finished 16th.

WATCH | Full replay of men's team pursuit quarters and women's 500m final:

They embraced after Jackson clinched the gold.

"She hugged me and we cried," the winner said. "She said she's really proud of me and I said a