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Olympia 2022: Olympic speed skating champion Erin Jackson: A victory for friendship

2022-02-13T18:06:51.940Z


She shot across the ice like a rocket: Erin Jackson won the gold medal in the speed skating sprint. But this triumph was more than just a performance show - it tells of a rare friendship in professional sports.


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Erin Jackson

Photo: GEPA pictures/ Patrick Steiner / imago images/GEPA pictures

Try screaming for 37 seconds straight, without a break, and at full force.

It will be very difficult for you.

You may find it easier to think of a close friend.

Brittany Bowe said she nearly passed out while shouting loudly at her teammate Erin Jackson at the Winter Olympics.

"I screamed so loud I almost passed out." But she didn't pass out in the ice rink.

Bowe yelled for about 37.04 seconds, then she was able to stop, then it was over.

Then Jackson, who had supported Bowe, was on target.

A few minutes later, the 29-year-old was the Olympic champion in speed skating over 500 meters, making her the first black woman to do so in this sport.

This Olympic victory tells a story about an exceptional athlete who actually comes from inline skating and only found her way onto the ice four years ago.

Jackson has improved rapidly, today she is the most explosive on the ice.

When it comes to the last straight, nobody can follow it.

She swings her arms so fast while sprinting, it looks like she's about to take off at any moment and fly to the finish line like a rocket.

She calls herself the »ice rat«.

Well, whatever you want.

But this triumph was not just a performance show.

He also talks about friendship and cohesion, the topic screams at you, since professional sport is often dominated by elbows, self-development, fame and honor.

Like there's nothing behind it.

And that brings you back to Brittany Bowe, who yelled so hard for Jackson, her teammate and friend, to fly to the finish.

Bowe, also a sprinter in speed skating, is one of the fastest US skaters on the ice.

In Pyeongchang, she won bronze in the team pursuit.

But she is already 33 years old and her time is coming to an end.

At these Winter Games she would have had no chance in the fight for medals.

And Jackson, four years younger at 29, was the world's dominant 500-meter sprinter that year.

Before the Beijing Olympics, she won four out of eight World Cups.

She was considered a clear gold candidate for the games in China.

Then, at the beginning of the year, something happened that wasn't planned.

In the elimination race, which was to decide the two US starting places for the 500-meter race, Jackson was suddenly not among the two best US sprinters.

She made mistakes, she just ran after them.

The best in the USA, maybe the best in the world, she shouldn't be allowed to compete in the Olympics.

As a result, Bowe secured one of the two starting positions.

Both come from the same speed skating stronghold

But rather than tackle plans for Beijing, Bowe decided that her starting place should go to the more promising runner: not her.

To Erin Jackson.

“It's part of the Olympic spirit to be a great comrade.

It's not just about me.

It's about Team USA.

Erin has the zest to bring home a medal, hopefully a gold one,” Bowe said at the time.

You can see a lot of kitsch in it.

Or a true token of friendship.

Because he is.

Jackson and Bowe are actually friends.

Both hail from the same Florida city, Ocala, a US speed skating stronghold.

You know each other from a young age.

It was here that they began their sports careers in inline skating, later they went on the ice.

In the case of Jackson, it was particularly late, at the age of 25, she stood on runners at a World Cup for the first time.

She trained for four months, then she managed to qualify for the 2018 Winter Games. Her role model was always Bowe.

Jackson stayed true to the ice, even if she's not entirely comfortable with it.

"I'm still a bit scared when it comes to skating," she told US media in December.

»I don't have a lot of confidence in myself, the blades and the ice, but definitely in the people around me.«

The trust in their environment should pay off.

And the Olympic victory at the latest should ensure that Jackson herself is convinced of her qualities on the ice.

In hindsight, Bowe's friendship would not have been necessary.

The organizers later allowed more starters, so the US team got a third place in the field - and this went to Bowe.

But when she voluntarily gave up for Jackson, she knew nothing of this happiness.

Perhaps the change was a reward for her fairness.

In fact, Bowe didn't get a chance to attack in the Olympic race, finishing 16th in the 500 meters.

She already knew a month ago that others are better – when she voluntarily gave up.

Healthy self-assessment - another rare commodity in professional sports.

In the ice rink, Bowe was one of the first to wish well.

"She hugged me and said she was proud of me and I just said thank you so much," Jackson said.

It was a victory of friendship.

Source: spiegel

All sports articles on 2022-02-13

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