Erin Jackson already has established herself as one of the world's strongest speed skaters.

At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Jackson won gold in the women's 500m, becoming the first Black American woman to win a medal in speed skating, the first Black woman to win an individual Winter Olympic gold, and the first American woman to win the 500m since Bonnie Blair in 1994. In the years since, she has continued to excel in the distance despite facing a string of health issues — including three herniated discs which still cause her discomfort today — claiming back-to-back 500m World Cup titles (2023-24, 2024-25) and at the Four Continents Championships (2024, 2025). On the 2025-26 World Cup circuit, she skated to three 500m medals and finished the season ranked 3rd globally in the event.

The 33-year-old made her third Olympic appearance at Milan Cortina 2026, just nine years after she made the transition from inline speed skating to the ice. There, she was named one of the United States' two Opening Ceremony flagbearers in recognition of her achievements in Beijing, posted a career-fastest opening split in the 500m (10.25 seconds), and placed 6th in the 1000m, a newer addition to her portfolio. Her final time in the 500m (37.32 seconds), which earned her 5th place, just was 0.83 seconds behind winner and world record holder Femke Kok and 0.05 seconds off the podium.  

Still, she's hungry for more — more ice time, and more gold. She'll begin that quest at the 2026 World Sprint Championships, which take place on March 5-6.

In a recent interview with NBCOlympics.com, Jackson discussed her experience in Milan, being a role model in the sport, and what's next.

This transcript lightly has been edited for length and clarity.

Now that you've had some time to decompress from the Olympics and look back on your season, how are you feeling about how the last six or eight competitive months have gone?

Jackson: It's been a really interesting season for me. I got a little bit of a later start because I was spending the summer trying to find some new solutions for my back injury, so ... it's kind of a give and take. I got a later start to the season, but I also had a lot less pain this season, so I think it was a really great advancement in the sport for me, and I feel like the season went pretty well. Of course, I would have loved to have ended with [an Olympic] medal, but I'll be going for another one this coming weekend.

In the past, you've mentioned considering back surgery. Is that still on the table?

Jackson: I did make a lot of improvements this year with the treatments that we did over the summer. I haven't had surgery yet — I've just had a bunch of other interventional treatments — but yeah, I think if I do want to go another four years, I'm gonna have to look at the surgery route. That's gonna be my plan. I have an appointment set for as soon as I get back from [worlds], and then we'll explore the options with the doctors. But yeah, the plan would be surgery, and then hopefully I don't have to deal with this issue anymore.

Talk to me about what it was like to carry the flag in the Parade of Nations in Milan.

Jackson: It was a really cool honor, especially being chosen by the other Team USA athletes and just getting to lead Team USA into the Games. Before my [first] Olympics, I was told that at the Opening Ceremony, that's when you really feel like you're at the Olympics. Three Games later, to be the one leading Team USA into the Games, it was a really cool experience.

Did you feel any extra pressure going into these Olympics knowing what your win in Beijing meant and knowing this role model position you now occupy?

Jackson: No, I wouldn't say there's any extra pressure, just because I try to be a good role model and a good example no matter what. It's really about trying to keep on doing what I've been doing and trying to just show up and be a good advocate for the sport and for the people in my community.

How do you feel about your results in Milan, especially given all the health issues you've had to overcome to get back to the Olympic stage?

Jackson: I think that a medal was not out of the cards for me. I think it was very within my reach to get a medal at the Games, but I knew that I had to really show up and really be on my game more than I was at the last Games. At the last Olympics, I had been winning consistently all season, and then the past three years for me have definitely been a lot more up and down. I knew that I was still in the running, but I had to really, really show up, and unfortunately, it didn't play out.

[Femke] has been far and away the best skater in the women's 500m for the past couple of years, and it was a really tall order to try and take her down, but she will be my target going into the next few years.

Is she your target for worlds, too? What are your goals for worlds?

Jackson: I'm looking to get on the podium for this competition as well. This isn't one that I have a lot of experience with. It's called a samalog competition. We're going to race four distances and then take the combined time of those four, so it's a really tiring competition. I don't have much experience doing that sort of competition, but I'm still going to go out strong and hopefully get a spot on the podium.

Day one will be the 500m race, then an hour break, then the 1000m race, and then the second day is the same thing. It's a tough one, but I'm really excited for it. I've done it one time before this, and I had a really good time then, too.

Now that Brittany [Bowe], Mia [Manganello], and Emery [Lehman] have retired from the team, you're the most senior member of the U.S. speed skating team. What does it mean to fill those leadership shoes?

Jackson: I'm looking forward to it. It's really hard to fill those shoes, of course. Brittany has been my friend and mentor for I don't even know how many years now — since I was 10 years old, so over 20 years — so it'll be really hard to step into those shoes. But I'm really looking forward to helping my teammates and my friends on the team progress over the next few years. I feel like they don't even need me. I feel like they're really great athletes and really great people, and I know they're going to be strong.

At the 2030 Olympics, you'd be 37 years old. Are you eyeing another Olympic quad?

Jackson: I am eyeing another Olympic quad. I think I made a lot of progress these last three years, especially with the steps forward I took with my back just from the treatments I did over the summer. So I'm just kind of imagining how much better it could be without the back issues at all. I'm really looking forward to what these next few years can look like, so it's pretty exciting for me.

You recently participated in Hershey's "Happiness is the Real Gold" campaign. Do you think being in your position as an Olympic gold medalist, as a top-tier speed skater, has enabled you to find happiness in other places in your life?

Jackson: I know that happiness is more than just winning gold medals. I feel like I'm in a unique position because I joined this sport just from the love of it. I didn't join to be competitive in it, I joined because I started out as a roller speed skater, and ... it was something I love to do. It's really awesome that the sport has gotten me to where I am, switching over to ice skating, and now this hobby that I did as a kid has become something that I do as a career. I think I just find happiness in that alone, with or without medals.

I think what the medal does for me is give me more of a platform for speaking about other things that I care about, and one of those things is helping other people experience the winter sports, because one of the top barriers to that is the cost. I hope to use my platform to start some sort of scholarship organization to help other people get involved in these more expensive winter sports.