Looks Like Black Girls Are About to Dominate Speedskating in the 2018 Winter Olympics
Erin Jackson
Black Girls Dominate Speedskating in 2018 Winter Olympics Erin Jackson , Maame Biney Daytona Beach , Florida January 2018
The Winter Olympics may just finally be worth watching , on Friday , Erin Jackson became the first Black woman to qualify for the U . S . Olympic longtrack Speedskating Team , and the third ever African American to make the U . S . Olympics team for Speedskating , mere months after taking up the sport .
The 25-year-old Floridian finished third , coming in at 39.04 seconds in the 500-meter race in Milwaukee . She now joins 17-year-old Maame Biney , who recently became the first Black woman to qualify for the U . S . Speedskating Team with her short-track triumph in mid-December .
We ’ bout to see all the # BlackGirlMagic during the Winter Olympics in South Korea .
Maame Biney , a Reston , Va . Native says “ I can ’ t believe it , aww geez . It ’ s a really good feeling , but it has to set in first because it takes me a while . I ’ m like , ‘ Holy cow .’” After Maame qualified , she let her teen euphoria get the best of her and came tumbling down on the ice , but she popped back up like Beyoncé and took it all in stride .
Maame Biney
Maame , whose parents are Ghanaian , will be the second Black speed skater on a U . S . Olympic Team . Shani Davis was 19 when he qualified for the shorttrack team in 2002 . He later switched to long track and won four medals , including two golds , according to USA Today . And in case you ’ re wondering how her last name is pronounced , her father cleared all that up with a sign he held from the stands on Saturday : “ Kick Some Hiney Biney .”