A University of Florida alumnus received the highest honor an athlete can get. Not only is speed skater Erin Jackson representing the United States of America on the 2026 Olympic roster, but she also had the honor of representing the United States as the flag bearer during the opening ceremonies on Friday.
Congrats to Florida #Gators alumnus and speed skater Erin Jackson on representing the United States as flag bearer during the opening ceremony of #Olympics2026.
— OnlyGators.com: Florida Gators news (@onlygators) February 7, 2026
Erin in 2022 became the first Black woman to win an individual gold medal at the Winter Games. pic.twitter.com/3rExGNAuEO
This will be the third Olympics that the Ocala native has been a part of (2018, 2022, 2026), and the 33-year old didn’t start skating until she was 24 (just nine years ago). She won her first gold medal in the 2022 Winter Olympics, becoming the first black woman to do so in the history of the sport.
Along with her three appearances in the Winter Olympics, Jackson has been the Speedskating World Championships three times (2019, 2020, 2023). She placed second in the team spring in 2023, along with placing 5th in the 500-meter sprint.
To add to her accolades, she is a four-time World Cup 500m Champion (2021-2024).
Prior to beginning her career in speed skating, she graduated cum laude in 2015 from the University of Florida’s College of Engineering with a Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Engineering with a 3.35 GPA.
Though speedskating was her first time on ice skates, Jackson competed previously in inline skating and roller derby. She didn’t begin training speedskating until 2017 and by 2018 was representing the United States at the Olympics.
Her Uncle shared with WESH2 how proud he is of his niece.
“You just don’t know how proud we are to have a moment like this. This is one of the most proudest moments there is, carrying that flag, it’s going to be the most amazing thing there is, I can’t wait,” he exclaimed about the pride he has for his niece.
Afte representing the United States as the flag bearer, Jackson will now begin preparing for her first race. She skates Monday in the women’s 1000 meter race and then on February 15 returns in the women’s 500 meter race to defend her gold medal from 2022.
America's second flag bearer, Frank Del Duca, is also a Florida native from Fort Lauderdale. He’ll represent the United States in bobsledding.