Locals to compete in Olympic Winter Games
Ocala’s Brittany Bowe and Erin Jackson will travel to Italy in February.
Brittany Bowe, left, and Erin Jackson, right, pose together after qualifying for the Olympics during the U.S. Olympics long track speedskating Olympics team trials at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, WI. on Saturday, January 3, 2026. [Courtesy Erin Jackson FB] 2026.
The Olympic Winter Games will be held from Feb. 6 to 22 in Milano Cortina, Italy. Among the sporting competitions is speedskating and Ocala is home to two of the greatest skaters of all time, Brittany Bowe and Erin Jackson. Both recently qualified for the Winter Games.
Bowe has won numerous titles and medals, and Jackson became the first Black woman to win a Winter Olympic gold medal in an individual sport, along with many other accolades.
According to the U.S. Speedskating website, on Jan. 3, at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the 2026 Olympic Team Trials – long track, Bowe, Jackson, Jordan Stolz, Conor McDermott-Mostowy and Cooper McLeod qualified to represent Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games. Jackson won the 1000-meter in a time of 1:14.625 and will be headed to her third Winter Olympic Games. Bowe took a close second with a time of 1:15.016 and looks to Milan as her fourth Olympic Games.
Here is information provided by the Team USA website about the two athletes as well as their former teammate, Joey Mantia, also of Ocala, who will coach Team Belgium Short Track athletes in Italy:
Brittany Bowe
She is 37 and a graduate of Florida Atlantic University. She was an Olympian in 2014, 2018 and 2022. She is the daughter of Debbie and Michael Bowe and grew up playing basketball and soccer. Her Olympic specialty is long track.
Bowe played basketball for the Florida Atlantic Owls and was inducted into the Florida Atlantic University’s Hall of Fame in 2019
She began inline skating at the age of 8 and transitioned to speedskating in the 2010 post-Olympic Winter Games Vancouver 2010. She is an 11-time inline skating world medalist and 17-time speedskating world medalist.
Throughout her career, Bowe has represented the United States in multiple Winter Olympics, earning a bronze medal in the team pursuit event at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018. She and curler John Shuster shared the honor of carrying the American flag at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. She has also secured numerous medals in world championships and world cup events, solidifying her status as a leading figure in speed skating.
Off the ice, Bowe is dedicated to giving back to the community, a proud ambassador of “Right to Play,” an organization dedicated to empowering children in disadvantaged communities through organized sports. An openly gay athlete, she uses her platform to advocate for inclusivity and representation in sports. She has also spoken with Fortune 500 companies, organizations and retreats on topics like inclusion, leadership, empathy, health and wellness. Bowe prioritizes physical, mental and spiritual wellness through yoga.
Erin Jackson
She is 33 and a graduate of the University of Florida. She is the daughter of Rita and Tracy Jackson. Her Olympic specialties are 500-meter, 1,000-meter and team sprint.
Jackson works with Edge Outdoors, an organization that helps women of color get into sports like skiing and snowboarding and wants to start something similar in speedskating. Her hobbies are pickleball and kickball with friends
When she is not skating, Jackson is working on multiple associate degrees from Salt Lake City Community, in kinesiology and business, after completing one in computer science
Jackson began inline skating after her mom, Rita, had a chance encounter with famed inline skating coach Renee Hildebrand. Jackson would join Hildebrand’s team, including future Team USA teammates Brittany Bowe and Joey Mantia. At 17, Jackson would be a junior inline champion in the 500-meter track event and competed in inline speedskating world championships and roller derby for Team USA ahead of the 2018 world cup before taking up long track speedskating.
Just months after transitioning to the ice full-time, Jackson made her Olympic debut at the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018 in the 500m, finishing 24th. Less than four years later, she was the top-ranked skater in the 500m discipline heading the U.S. Olympic Speedskating Trials. She finished third in the 500m at the 2022 U.S. Olympic Trials – Speedskating in Milwaukee after slipping during the race, so she missed out on the two available qualification berths. However, her teammate and long-time friend, Bowe, who won the event at the U.S. Trials, ceded her place to Jackson, claiming she had a greater chance of winning gold in the event at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
At the Beijing Games, Jackson made history as the first Black woman to win gold in an individual event at the Winter Olympics. Later that year, she returned to inline skating and became world champion for the first time ever at the 2022 ISU World Championships in the one lap sprint event. Jackson would also win gold the following year at the PanAm Games in the 500m, her signature event.
Joey Mantia
Mantia, 39, through inline speed skating, has won 28 World Championship titles, three Pan American Games titles, 15 World Cup Gold medals, 12 Junior World titles and more than 90 national titles, according to his Team USA bio.
His Instagram page notes that he currently is the head coach for Team Belgium Short Track.
A recent article on the Belga News Agency website states: “Belgium will head to the Winter Games in Milan-Cortina with six short track speed skaters, its strongest delegation to date. The country will be represented in every individual distance (500m, 1,000m and 1,500m) as well as the mixed 2,000m relay and the men’s 5,000m relay.
Speaking out on social media
On Jan. 5, Debbie Bowe posted on her Facebook page these comments: “Yes, we are blessed to leave the 2026 Olympic Trials with #4, but just as important we leave with genuine gratitude. Gratitude for soooooooo much to sooooooo many! Thanks to Brittany’s US speedskating coaches, trainers, and support staff! They are beyond amazing! Thanks to anybody and everybody that had anything to do with the Pettit Center Oval venue operations. It was fabulous. The sold-out crowds were treated with hospitality from start to finish and the efficiency of service was TOP of the podium! Thanks to all that made the trip to Milwaukee to cheer in the stands. Your commitment and love are priceless! JOY! Thanks to ALL of you that cheered and prayed from afar as your genuine support was felt. We take nothing for granted and are very humbled! God bless the 2026 USA Winter Olympians and every single skater that competed and their families!”
Brittany Bowe once again is offering Team Bowelieve T-shirts for sale. On Jan. 5, she posted this note on her Facebook page: “As I step forward from my final race in Milwaukee and continue this journey toward my 4th Olympic Games, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for the people who have continued to support me. BOWElieve isn’t just a word — it’s a symbol. A reminder that belief matters. That community matters. That none of this is done alone. If you’ve ever supported, believed, cheered, or felt connected to my journey — you are Team Bowelieve. I’d be honored to have you wear it, represent it, and cheer loud as we set our sights on Italy and the 2026 Olympic Games. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being part of Team Bowelieve.”
Find the T-shirts at bowelieve.myshopify.com
In a Dec. 10 post on Instagram, Jackson made this statement: “Grateful for the people who believed in me before I hit my stride, this journey has been nothing short of magic.”
In another post, she is quoted as saying: “I’m motivated by myself and wanting to be better than I was yesterday.”
To learn more, go to teamusa.com, usspeedskating.org and olympics.com
Editor’s note: The “Gazette” has previously written about and photographed Bowe, Jackson and former teammate Joey Mantia, for example in these links:
ocalagazette.com/ocala-proud
ocalagazette.com/gallery-winter-olympics-speedskaters-celebrated-in-ocala
ocalagazette.com/gallery-ocala-winter-olympians-honored-at-howard-academy
ocalagazette.com/gallery-ocala-parade-of-winter-olympics-champions
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