USA's Erin Jackson Wants Speed Skating Gold Again at Milan Olympics: 'I Really Welcome the Pressure' (Exclusive)

Speed skater Erin Jackson is fully embracing what it means to be the defending Olympic champion.

“I really welcome the pressure, so I guess I’m a little bit different in that regard,” Jackson, 32, tells PEOPLE. “I kind of eat on that pressure to get me in the right mindset for my events.”

And with just one year to go before the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Jackson is ready for another opportunity to make history — just like she did when she took gold in the women’s 500m race at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, becoming the first Black woman to win a Winter Olympic medal in an individual sport.

“I'm feeling super excited,” the Florida native says. “We have two more events or we have two more World Cups left on our circuit this year, and then we have the world championship. So really looking forward to hopefully medalling at the World Championships. It'll put me in a good spot for the next Olympics.”

The Olympian has come a long way since she first put on ice speed skates in 2016. But just two years after taking up the sport, she had qualified for the 2018 games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

“In 2018, I was really new to the sport,” Jackson tells PEOPLE about her previous Olympics experiences. “I had, what was it, like, maybe six months tops of long track skating in my belt. And then going into 2022. I came into the season ranked number one, so it was just a totally different positions.”

She adds, “Each time has been a totally unique experience. It's just been really fun to come at it from all different angles.”

Looking back, Jackson chuckles at how she once struggled to even get on the track.

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“I remember there was an article that came out and this guy was basically just saying all the ways you could tell that I was new to the sport, and one of them was the way I get on and off the ice,” Jackson laughs. “So I don't know if you've seen speed skaters getting on the ice, but I mean, back then it was super tricky for me, and I made it really obvious that I had no idea what I was doing quite yet. But now I've got that part figured out. I do take a hand from my coach when he's by the ice. He can help me on and off. But yeah, I'm a lot better at that at this point.”

Now, with one year to go, Jackson is primed to do something only one other American female speed skater — Bonnie Blair — has ever done: repeat as champion.

All the while, she admits that in the “super technical” world of speed skating, she’s still learning every day.

“With this sport, I just feel like there's always something that I can improve on, always something I can change and tweak,” Jackson says. “Technique is just something that everyone's chasing their whole careers basically.” 

The Winter Olympics and Paralympics begin February 2026 on NBC & Peacock. To learn more about the athletes, visit TeamUSA.com.