Who are Erin Jackson's parents? Olympian contender experienced tragedy as high schooler
Team USA's formidable young speedskater Erin Jackson is set to represent her country on the world stage of 2022 Beijing winter Olympics. Jackson, currently ranked #1 in the 500m track, is just 29 and eying a historic gold for the country. She is the first Black American woman to compete in the Olympic speed skating event. All credit to her parents, who moulded her to be rough and tough and shine like a diamond for the country.
Jackson's accomplishmens in the sport are even more remarkable considering the fact that she entered the sport in a historic fashion, becoming “the first Black woman to qualify for a US Olympic long-track speedskating team, just four months after taking up the sport,” after transferring over from roller derby and inline skating. Surprising, isn't it? But this champion has come a long way with lots of grit and commitment for the sport.
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Talking about Jackson's parents, her father Tracy Jackson is a retired Army veteran and a retired fire truck builder. Her mother, Rita Jackson, was a pharmacy technician and sadly passed away while she was in high school. The Olympian told NBC Olympics that her dad recently moved from Florida to live with her in Utah. “We now have a house together near the Olympic Oval,” Jackson said.
Jackson has a brother, Corey Farmer, who lives in Florida with his wife and works in the roofing industry. “Since both of my parents came from large families, I have a very large extended family, she told NBC Sports. Even though, the world considers Jackson as just a sportsperson, she is also an academic scholar. Her parents instilled the value of education very early on, and made sure she didn't have to struggle to cover educational expenses in her life.
Jackson says she was "tricked" into thinking books and dictionaries were cool and her parents started a college tuition fund for her when she was little. “My parents were really education-focused,” she said. “They made sure I had all the right opportunities for school. They started a college program to pay for tuition when I was a kid.” Indeed, their money was put to good use as Jackson graduated from UF in 2015 with an engineering degree. After the 2022 Winter Games, she shared with Forbes that she is thinking about pursuing a master’s degree in biomechanics.
Jackson's entry into the Olympic sport is much more intriguing — she didn’t even tell her father she was pursuing sports in the first place! Jackson said she didn’t share her sport ambitions with her family and about going to the Olympic trials because to her, it was just another race. “I didn’t even tell my dad and my family that I was going to the Olympic trials because to me, it wasn’t the Olympic trials,” she told Sports Illustrated in her January 18 cover story. “I was going to do this race that just happened to be a place where other people were trying to qualify for the Olympics,” she added. Needless to say, her efforts didn't go in vain, and her father became prouder than ever, seeing his daughter climb the steps of glory!