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Erin Jackson and Sarah Warren proudly carried the flag for Team USA in the women’s 500m speedskating competition. Here’s a look at their performance.
MILAN, Metropolitan City of Milan — Erin Jackson, striving to repeat her success, fell short in the women’s 500-meter speed skating race, unable to retain her gold medal at the 2026 Winter Games.
Jackson, who made history as the first Black woman to clinch a speedskating medal in an individual event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, clocked in at 37.32 seconds, securing a 5th place finish.
In the final pair, Jackson competed against the formidable Dutch skater Femke Kok, who was considered the top contender.
The current world record for the women’s 500-meter speedskating, held by Kok, stands at 36.09 seconds, set in 2025, as per Olympic records. On Sunday, Kok clinched the gold, setting a new Olympic record with a time of 36.49 seconds.
Silver went to the Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands, while Japan’s Miho Takagi took bronze.
Leerdam’s fiancée, internet personality-turned-boxer Jake Paul, was cheering her on from the stands as she took an early lead.
The Dutch speedskater surged to the top of the podium in the 1000 meters last week, setting an Olympic record by crossing the finish line in 1 minute, 12.31 seconds. Kok was just behind her at 1:12.59.
Skater Sarah Warren also represented Team USA on Sunday. She finished with a time of 39.19 and in 28th place.
Warren’s journey to the Olympics was intense, to say the least. She has torn both of her ACLs, the right in 2016 and the left in 2018, and had knee surgery for a total meniscal failure last year. She spent roughly four years recovering from the injuries, and CNN reported she couldn’t balance on one foot and needed to re-learn how to skate two years ago.
This was her Winter Olympics debut, but she had previously competed in a short-track event at the Youth Olympic Games in 2012, where she finished fourth in the 500m.