Speed skating is back on the ice on Monday, as reigning 500-meter champion Erin Jackson makes her 1,000-meter debut in the sport's second individual women's event at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
While Team USA failed to medal in Saturday's 3,000-meter race, two US skaters have podium potential on Monday's start line: Jackson and fellow Olympic veteran Brittany Bowe.
As for Jackson, the 33-year-old Team USA flag bearer opens her 2026 campaign looking to add to her historic 2022 run, when she became the first Black woman to win an individual Winter Olympic gold medal.
"A lot has changed over the years, especially me getting older," Jackson said ahead of Monday's race. "But I'm feeling super confident and excited to give it another go."
Meanwhile, 37-year-old Bowe will be hunting a third piece of Olympic hardware as she looks to better her bronze-medal finish in her signature 1,000-meter race at the 2022 Beijing Games.
Though Bowe is currently third in the world at that distance while Jackson clocks in 10th, the 500-meter specialist edged Bowe in the 1,000-meter at last month's US Olympic Trials — launching Jackson into the medal conversation for Monday's race in Milan.
That said, the US contenders face a loaded Olympic field that includes reigning champion Miho Takagi (Japan) and 2022 silver medalist — and Dutch social media influencer — Jutta Leerdam.
How to watch Erin Jackson race at the 2026 Winter Olympics
The women's 1000-meter speed skating race begins at 11:30 AM ET on Monday, airing live on USA Network.
