MILAN ― American speed skaters Erin Jackson and Brittany Bowe came up empty in the women’s 1,000 meters at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Monday, Feb. 9.
Jackson briefly held the lead before finishing sixth place. Bowe was in third before the final pairing and finished in fourth.
It was the beginning of Jackson’s quest to add to her Olympic medal collection. She will try to defend her Olympic title in the 500m on Sunday, Feb. 15.
‘I’m super stoked,’ Jackson said. ‘That was my second-best result in the 1,000 ever. Last time I wasn’t even competing in the 1,000 at the Olympics. It’s a distance that I’ve had a ton of respect for, and I’ve just been trying to get better and better at it.
‘So, I couldn’t be happier … well, I could be happier with a medal.’
Bowe, 37, also will compete in the 500, giving her another shot to add to her bronze in the 1,000 meters in 2018 and again in 2022. But this will be her last chance for Olympic hardware, as she has said she will retire after the 2025-26 season.
‘Strong race. I gave it my best effort and left it all out there,’ Bowe said. ‘Obviously, tough finishing in what most would think is the hardest position in the Olympc games in fourth place. In the same breath, just such an honor to be able to be out there and my name continuing to be in that very elite pack of ladies.
Jutta Leerdam, Jake Paul’s fiancee, won the gold medal while setting an Olympic record with a time of 1:12.31. Leerdam’s Netherlands teammate Femke Kok won the silver and Miho Takagi of Japan won the bronze.
Erin Jackson bolts into first
Jackson took over the lead in the 11th pairing by completing the race in 1:15.00, .46 seconds lead over Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands. Jackson finished strong, sizzling through the backstretch.
Short-lived lead
Femke Kok of the Netherlands vaulted into the lead in the 13th pairing while setting the Olympic record with a time of 1:12.59. America’s Brittany Bowe moved into second, dropping Jackson into third place. And after the next pairing, Jackson dropped into fourth place, out of medal contention.
Featured pairings
Jackson will be paired with Min-Sun Kim of South Korea in the 11th slot.
Brittany Bowe will be paired with the Netherlands’ Femke Kok, the world’s No. 1 ranked speed skater in the 1,000m, in the 13th spot.
Mile High flavor
The Milano Speed Skating is beginning to look like the Denver Broncos Stadium at Mile High. Which is to say lots of orange, the color in which Netherland fans are decked out. And, of course, the color proud Broncos fans wear. The fans from Netherlands are here in particular to cheer on one of their speed skating stars, Leerdam.
Why do they wear orange? According to the Dutch Amsterdam website, here’s why: ‘Orange is the color of the Dutch Royal Family, which hails from the House of Orange.” Wearing orange is a way to pay tribute to the Dutch Royal Family.
Orange you amazed?
With the competition underway, this place is dripping Netherlands orange. Suzanne Schulting, in the first pairing, has given them something to get fired up about: Through six pairings, she holds the lead with a time of 1:15.46.
Star sighting
Among the spectators is Allyson Felix, the retired American track star who won 11 Olympic medals, including seven golds.
Erin Jackson rolled
On a circuitous path, Jackson started as an inline skater and also joined a roller derby team before taking up speed skating. She competed in roller derby as recently as 2023.
‘I decided for my health and for my back safety that I should probably put that on hold for a little bit,’ she said. ‘ … I’d love to get back to it.’
Even though she’ll be competing in her first race of the 2026 Olympics Feb. 9, Jackson already is off to a memorable start. She served as one of Team USA’s two flag bearers during the opening ceremony.
How to watch Erin Jackson at Olympics
NBC broadcasts the Olympics, and its streaming service Peacock has all the events live.
Watch the Olympics on Peacock