AP Top News｜埃琳·杰克逊不希望成为唯一一位获得冬奥会个人项目金牌的黑人女性

MILWAUKEE (AP) When American speedskater Erin Jackson won the 500 meters at the Beijing Games four years ago, she knew, of course, that it was her first Olympic medal. She also was aware that it had been a while 28 years, to be exact since a woman from the U.S. finished first in that event.

What she had no idea about until days later: Jackson was the first Black woman, from any country, to claim an individual gold medal, in any sport, at any Winter Olympics .

Jackson definitely does not want to be the last.

It was just really surprising, I guess, because I felt like, How could that be? she said in an interview with The Associated Press at the U.S. Speedskating trials ahead of the Milan Cortina Games. When you think about how many Winter Olympics weve had, I just thought it was really strange. I hope people can see my story and the stories of other Black women in winter sports and then, hopefully, well have more coming up soon.

Theyre not there yet.

The 33-year-old Jackson is the only Black athlete among the 21 speedskaters on the long track and short track squads for the United States at these Olympics, although this could be the most diverse Winter Games roster the countrys had overall.

I cant imagine being a younger kid watching the Olympic Games and never seeing somebody that looked like me do what Im trying to do, said U.S. speedskater Brittany Bowe, a two-time bronze medalist. For her to be able to do that, and she is now that face for young Black girls to be able to look up and say, She can do it? Now I can do it its monumental.

Bowe famously gave up her spot in the 500 four years ago to her longtime friend after Jackson slipped at the trials; an extra U.S. berth later opened up, allowing both to race in China.

Jackson, already the first Black woman to win a World Cup 500, took full advantage. She was focused on the piece of metal she wanted dangling from her neck, not the historical significance.

We didnt even think about that at the time. I didnt even realize it until a day or two later, U.S. Speedskating national team coach Ryan Shimabukuro said. Shes proud of it, obviously. And Im proud of her for it. But we didnt really think about that, as much as: What is the best way to skate the fastest?

These days, though, increasing the kinds of faces seen in her sport is one of Jacksons goals, along with bringing home more hardware from Italy, where shell compete in the 500 and 1,000 after winning both distances at the trials despite being about a month removed from a torn left hamstring.

I just hope that I can help other people of color get involved in winter sports and speedskating. Its really important to see people like you achieving something, because then maybe that can inspire you to try the same things, said Jackson, who grew up in Ocala, Florida, and was a top inline skater before switching to the ice four months before qualifying for the 2018 Olympic speedskating team.

I just always want to be a good example, she said, or someone who other people can look to.

When shes done competing, Jackson intends to set up a foundation modeled after EDGE Outdoors, a group based in Washington state that helps provide scholarships for minority women to get into skiing and snowboarding. Jackson has worked with them, reviewing scholarship applications. She also has been involved with the Utah-based Sisters in Sports Foundation, which offers mentorship and funding for female athletes with disabilities.

One of the biggest issues with winter sports is there is a really big barrier to entry around cost. Theyre really expensive sports to get into, Jackson said. That kind of limits the talent we can have and the people who can give it a shot.

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密尔沃基（美联社）——四年前，美国速滑选手埃琳·杰克逊在北京冬奥会上夺得500米比赛冠军时，她当然知道这是自己的首枚奥运奖牌。她也清楚，自美国女将上一次在该项目夺冠以来，已经过去了整整28年。

直到数日后她才得知：杰克逊是冬奥会历史上首位来自任何国家、在任何项目中获得个人金牌的黑人女性。

杰克逊绝对不想成为最后一名。

“这确实非常令人惊讶，我当时就在想，‘怎么会这样呢？’”她在米兰-科尔蒂纳冬奥会前的美国速滑选拔赛上接受美联社采访时说道。“当你想到我们已经举办过多少届冬奥会时，我觉得这真的很奇怪。我希望人们能看到我的故事，以及冬季运动中其他黑人女性的故事，这样或许很快就会有更多人加入我们。”

他们尚未抵达目的地。

33岁的杰克逊是美国队在本届冬奥会21名长道和短道速滑选手中唯一的黑人运动员，尽管这可能是美国队整体上最多元化的一届冬奥会阵容。

美国速滑运动员、两届铜牌得主布里塔妮·鲍威表示：“我无法想象，如果小时候观看奥运会时，从未看到与自己相似的人从事我正在努力追求的事业，那会是怎样的感受。而现在，她做到了这一点，成为了年轻黑人女孩们仰望的榜样，让她们能够说‘她能行？那我也能行’——这意义非凡。”

四年前，博韦在选拔赛中因杰克逊意外滑倒，将500米项目的参赛资格让给了她的老友，这一举动广为人知；后来美国队额外获得一个参赛席位，使得两人得以一同在中国参赛。

作为首位赢得世界杯500米比赛的黑人女性，杰克逊充分利用了这一优势。她一心只想要那块挂在脖子上的奖牌，而非关注其历史意义。

“我们当时根本没考虑过这一点。直到一两天后我才意识到，”美国速滑国家队教练瑞安·岛袋（Ryan Shimabukuro）说道。“显然，她为此感到自豪。我也为她骄傲。但我们真正在意的并不是这个，而是：怎样才能滑得最快？”

然而近来，杰克逊的目标不仅包括从意大利带回更多奖牌——她将在500米和1000米比赛中角逐，尽管左腿腘绳肌撕裂仅恢复约一个月，她仍在选拔赛中赢得了这两个项目的胜利——还致力于提升她所在运动项目的参赛选手多样性。

“我只希望能帮助更多有色人种参与冬季运动和速滑项目。”杰克逊说道，“看到与自己相似的人取得成就非常重要，因为这或许能激励你去尝试同样的事情。”杰克逊在佛罗里达州奥卡拉长大，曾是顶尖的轮滑运动员，在入选2018年奥运会速滑队前四个月才转战冰上项目。

“我一直希望自己能成为榜样，”她说道，“或是他人可以仰望的对象。”

结束竞技生涯后，杰克逊计划效仿华盛顿州的EDGE Outdoors组织，建立一个基金会。该组织致力于为少数族裔女性提供滑雪和单板滑雪奖学金。杰克逊曾与他们合作，参与奖学金申请的评审工作。此外，她还与犹他州的"体育姐妹基金会"保持合作，该基金会为残疾女性运动员提供导师指导和资金支持。

冬季运动最大的问题之一在于高昂的参与成本形成了巨大门槛。"这些运动的投入成本实在太高，"杰克逊表示，"这在某种程度上限制了我们能吸纳的人才规模，也让许多有意尝试的人望而却步。"