Every four years come the Winter Olympics, this year held in Milan and Cortina, Italy. Top athletes from around the world, all vying for a spot on the podium and the elusive gold medal, come together to compete at the pinnacle of their sports. This February, celebrate Black History Month with The Eagle’s Eye by supporting Black winter Olympians and their achievement in sport!
Erin Jackson – Speed Skating
Erin Jackson at the 2022 Beijing Games. Photo from the Salt Lake Tribune.
A Florida native, Erin Jackson has a background in roller derby and inline (roller) speed skating. Jackson began speed skating on ice in 2017, competing in her first Winter Olympic Games in 2018, where she finished middle of the pack. She began focusing on the 500m race, the same race she excelled in during her time as an inline skater.
She didn’t qualify for the 2022 Beijing Games, but her long-time friend, Brittany Bowe, gave up her first-place spot in order to allow Jackson a chance to compete once again on the world stage. Jackson made the most of her opportunity and won Olympic gold in the women’s 500-meter race, making history as the first Black woman to ever win individual winter gold.
This year, Jackson became the first Black American woman to bear the U.S. flag in the opening ceremonies. She competed in the 1000m race and finished sixth, and ended up in fifth place in the 500m, fractions of a second behind her opponents in true Olympic fashion.
Laila Edwards – Hockey
Laila Edwards at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games. Picture by 2026 Getty Images.
Growing up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Laila Edwards began figure skating at just three years old before switching to hockey at age five. Since then, she has won two NCAA national championships with the University of Wisconsin, recording 35 goals and 36 assists in 41 games as a junior.
Now, she continues to make her mark as the first Black woman to compete for the U.S. hockey team at the Olympics.
Edwards was originally on Team USA’s radar as a forward, but strengthened her chances of becoming a starter by asking Team USA Coach John Wroblewski if she could switch to defense. Although she has limited experience in this position, she is adapting incredibly quickly, already earning an assist in her first Olympic appearance against Czechia and a goal against defending gold medalists Canada.
Despite the prevalent lack of diversity in her sport, Laila Edwards has built a groundbreaking career that millions around the world can draw inspiration from, especially as she aims to help lead Team USA to a gold medal in 2026.
Mystique Ro – Skeleton
Mystique Ro competing in skeleton. Image via Team USA.
Only having discovered skeleton ten years ago, Mystique Ro has climbed through the ranks. The 31-year-old from Nokesville, Virginia, made her Olympic debut in Cortina this year.
The start for Ro came in 2016, after attending a rookie training camp for both skeleton and bobsled, inspired by her background in track and field. With the guidance of her coaches, Ro chose to pursue skeleton, making her way to international competition.
Ro’s career high came last year at the International Luge Federation World Championships in Lake Placid, New York—Ro’s current home. She had a silver medal finish in the women’s event and, alongside her partner, Austin Florian, won the gold medal in the mixed event.
Though she may not have made the podium in her Olympic debut, Mystique Ro was an athlete to watch this quad. She has already proved successful on the international stage and continues to represent the United States and the sport of skeleton well.
Kaysha Love – Bobsled
Kaysha Love competing for the United States at the IBSF World Championships in 2025. Picture by Lou Reuter.
Originally from Herriman, Utah, Kaysha Love was born into a family full of athletic talent. Growing up in a family full of collegiate athletes, she began her athletic career in track and field the summer before her 7th-grade year. As a sprinter on her high school’s track team, she helped her school win four straight state-wide championships. After being invited to a beginner’s push camp in October 2020, she began her bobsled career at age 23; a few years later, she was a World Cup champion.
In January 2022, Love was selected to compete for the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and made her debut alongside pilot Kaillie Humphries. Later that year, Love and Humphries claimed first place at the IBSF World Cup.
Her best trophy to date was claimed at the 2025 IBSF World Championships, where she won a gold medal in the monobob after beating the two-time defending world champion Laura Nolte by a time of just 0.44 seconds.
Now, at this year’s Winter Olympics, she is proudly representing the United States on the world’s greatest stage and is elated to fight for the gold.
Elana Meyers Taylor – Bobsled
Elana Meyers Taylor in the inaugural Women’s Monobob at the Beijing Olympics. Photo by James Reed Photography.
Elana Meyers Taylor was born to be an Olympian. Growing up near Atlanta, she carried the Olympic torch at just 11 years old in the 1996 Olympics. However, her journey wasn’t all smooth sledding.
Before the 2022 Olympics, she tested positive for COVID. She had to spend time in isolation and even missed the opening ceremony, in which she was supposed to serve as the flag bearer for the United States.
Meyers Taylor is living proof that life finds a way. Even after testing positive, she still managed to cement herself in winter Olympics history as a bobsled athlete by winning silver in the women’s monobob and bronze in two-woman bobsled. At 41, she continues to demonstrate excellence in her sport when many others would have retired. As a five-time Olympian and six-time medalist, Meyers Taylor is the most decorated Black winter Olympian in history with one gold, won in Milan for the women’s monobob, and three silver and two bronze medals between women’s monobob and two-woman bobsled.
These Black Athletes have made their mark on history, and now is the time to watch. You can follow the Winter Olympic Games on NBC or Peacock. Go support our winter Olympians!
Sources
https://www.olympics.com/en/athletes/erin-jackson
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elana_Meyers_Taylor
https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/elana-meyers-taylor
https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/mystique-ro
https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/mystique-ro-meet-athlete
https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/kaysha-love
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laila_Edwards
https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/laila-edwards
