Reigning Olympic champion Erin Jackson and reigning World Cup champion Jordan Stolz both qualified for their second events at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics on the third day of the U.S. Speed Skating Trials, winning the women's and men's 500m races, respectively.

With her victory, Jackson — who in 2022 became the first Black American woman to win an Olympic speed skating medal and the first Black woman to win an individual Winter Olympic gold — locked up her chance to defend her title on the Olympic stage in February. She won the race with a final time of 38.158 seconds.

Jackson, 33, had prequalified for the event with podium finishes at the first two World Cups this season, where she earned two silvers at the season opener in Salt Lake City and a bronze in Calgary. American skaters who earned a medal at two of the fall World Cups in the same distance prequalified for the Milan Cortina Games. However, those skaters are required to start the same race at Trials to remain eligible for the U.S. Olympic team.

"It definitely wasn't my best 500, but I did what needed to be done today," Jackson told NBC Sports' Lewis Johnson after the race.

At the third World Cup this season, the two-time reigning World Cup 500m champion added a hamstring injury to a long list of afflictions she has battled since 2023, including herniated discs, gastrointestinal issues, and uterine fibroids. As a result, Jackson scratched her races at World Cup No. 3 and skated cautiously at the circuit's fourth stop. Before Trials, Jackson had not skated at full speed at a competition in a month. 

Jackson clinched her Olympic berth the day before, beating teammate and world record-holder Brittany Bowe for first place in the 1000m. Both will compete in the event in Milan Cortina.

Stolz won his race in 34.761 seconds. Like Jackson, the 21-year-old had pre-qualified for the distance on the World Cup circuit.

A two-time world champion in the 500m, Stolz has set two track records in the distance this season. He won the 500m World Cup title last season and currently stands as the world’s top-ranked skater in the distance, collecting five golds and one bronze across the first seven World Cup races so far this campaign.  

Also like Jackson, Stolz officially had earned his spot on the Olympic roster on the second day of Trials in the 1000m, another event in which he had pre-qualified. Despite having stumbled early in the race, Stolz rebounded and finished 3rd, just 0.12 seconds behind 1st place.

Stolz also pre-qualified in the day's final event, the men's 1500m. However, Stolz elected to scratch his race due to a head cold, though he qualified for the event just by crossing the finish line. It’s the third of four events in which Stolz has pre-qualified, the fourth being a new addition to his program, the mass start. Stolz's coach, Bob Corby, told Johnson that Stolz still plans to race the mass start on the final day of Trials, Jan. 5.

Bowe also won her event on Sunday, racing across the 1500m finish line in 1 minute, 55.03 seconds to add a second event to her Olympic program for Milan Cortina.

"Erin ... had an incredible race [yesterday]. I rewatched her race this morning, and I was like, 'That was a beautiful race,' so I wanted to bounce back today and get that gold," Bowe said after her 1500m win. "I'm glad I was able to do it today."

The 37-year-old skater, who formerly held the world record in the distance, plans to retire at the end of this season. She has earned one individual World Cup medal this season, a bronze in the 1500m at World Cup No. 2 in Calgary. Bowe is ranked 5th in the distance globally, having finished within the top six in each of her races so far this season.

Greta Myers, who was paired with Bowe, finished 2nd but made contact with Bowe on a faulty exchange, resulting in her disqualification. Per Olympic Trials rules, the 21-year-old chose to re-skate the race and reclaimed her 2nd-place position, skating the distance faster than in her first attempt. The performance earned her a spot on her first Olympic team. 

"I was really relieved that I had the opportunity [to re-skate] and super grateful that they allowed me to do that," Myers said after her second race. "I knew I had something to prove and that I could do well if I got the chance, so I'm just super stoked that it worked out."

Myers had won the women's 3000m to open the weekend, but the United States was not awarded a roster spot in the women's long distances in the initial allocation process.

The United States currently owns two Olympic quota spots in the women's 500m and 1500m, as well as three in the men's 500m and 1500m. 

A second 500m will be contested on the final day of competition, Jan. 5. Skaters will be ranked according to their fastest time between the two races in order to determine who will fill the second spot on the roster.

Sarah Warren crossed the 500m finish line in 38.87, 2nd behind Jackson and just 0.02 seconds ahead of 3rd-place finisher McKenzie Browne. If Warren holds her lead over the rest of the field after the second 500m, she will make her first Olympic team.

Cooper McLeod, who earned his first career Olympic berth by placing 3rd in the men's 1000m on Jan. 3, finished 2nd behind Stolz in the men's 500m. He posted a final time of 34.820.

Emery Lehman and Casey Dawson likely will round out the U.S. contingent in the men's 1500m. 

Lehman posted his best race of the season in the distance, crossing the finish line in 1:44.202 for the win. The 29-year-old skater, who will retire after the Olympics, made his first Olympic roster at just 17 years old.

Dawson, who finished 2nd, already had qualified for the Olympics in the 5000m and 10,000m.

The two also compete together in the men's team pursuit. 

After three days of competition, eight Americans officially have made the U.S. Olympic speed skating roster for 2026. 

The open spots for the final two events — the 500m and the mass start — will be decided on the fourth and final day of Olympic Trials, Monday, Jan. 5.