Erin Jackson and Sarah Warren represented Team USA in the women’s 500m speedskating event. Here’s how they did.
MILAN, Metropolitan City of Milan — Erin Jackson fell short in the women’s 500-meter speed skating event, failing to defend her gold medal at the 2026 Winter Games.
Jackson, who became the first Black woman to win a speedskating medal in an individual event during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, finished with a time of 37.32 and placed 5th overall.
Jackson skated alongside heavy favorite Femke Kok, of the Netherlands, as the last pair in the event.
The world record for women’s 500-meter speedskating is 36.09 seconds set by Kok of the Netherlands in 2025, according to the Olympics. On Sunday, Kok won gold with a new Olympic record time of 36.49.
Kok powered through the final turn and easily pulled away from Jackson, finishing in 36.49 seconds. When Kok crossed the line, she threw her arms overhead to the delight of the many, many Dutch spectators, then skated a little more before covering her face with both hands.
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.