DAY #9 SPORTS FOCUS: Erin “Speedy” Jackson speeds to maiden Olympic gold, while snowfall wreaks havoc on skiing events

It was a snowy day in Beijing and the surrounding competition clusters, but the most compelling action of the day came from the ice at the National Speed Skating Oval. Erin Jackson delivered on her pre-race billing as the advertised favorite to squeak out a victory over Miho Takagi of Japan in the women’s 500m.

Jackson’s victory is a near perfect ending to a story that almost didn’t happen. She had been in dominant form throughout the World Cup season, winning four of the eight races held at her favored distance of 500m, while earning podium placings in two of the remaining four.

A clear favorite for the gold medal, the U.S. Olympic Trials should have been a formality for her. However, the 500m is a notoriously fickle event within speed skating. Jackson’s race started off well, but a stumble coming out of the first turn looked to have cost her everything. Sure, she’d recovered, but her time had been gravely impacted in a sport defined by razor thin margins.

Speedy, as Jackson is known, came up short for the Olympic team. She came in third in the event, but the United States only had two quota places to fill in the women’s 500m.

Enter a lifeline in the shape of friend and teammate, Brittany Bowe. Bowe had skated herself into 500m with a great performance at the trials. She had also claimed spots in the 1000m and 1500m. She decided to withdraw from her spot in the 500m to allow Jackson to compete at the Games.

Bowe told NBC Sports, “in my heart there was never a question that I would do whatever it took if it came down to me to get Erin to skate the Olympics.”

Brittany Bowe’s sacrifice paid off in a big way for her teammate on Sunday. Jackson was slated to skate in the second to last pairing of the day. Miho Takagi had set the time to beat in an early pairing, and could only watch the remaining pairings attempt, and fail, to best her time while completing her cooldown cycle.

Takagi’s time lasted until the second to last pair, when Jackson stepped up the starting line and took the lead from the moment she crossed the starting line, until the minute she crossed the finish line. Jackson then had to wait for the final pair to finish before learning her fate, which was gold.

Speaking to reporters after the race, Jackson remembered the sacrifice of her teammate, who also raced on Sunday after the United States was allocated an additional starting place in the event. Jackson stated, “she (Bowe) made a really big sacrifice for me and I’ll be grateful to her forever.”

“I wish I could describe how I feel. It is amazing. This medal means so much. It has been a tough couple of years and a tough beginning for this year. For this to come around like this I am so happy.”

Snow, snow, and more snow; wintry conditions bring a dose of the white powder to the Games

Elsewhere around Beijing and its associated competition clusters, snow was the big story of the day. From blizzard conditions in the men’s giant slalom, to snowmen popping up around the closed loop, snow was a central figure on day nine of Olympic competition.

The blizzard conditions proved challenging for organizers, forcing the cancellation of women’s downhill training in alpine skiing, and the postponement of qualifying rounds in both women’s aerials and slopestyle in freestyle skiing.

The conditions weren’t much better for athletes either, with nearly half the field failing to finish the men’s giant slalom. A comical episode played out following Adrian Hau Tsuen Yung’s first run, when his ski popped off and got lost in the blankets of snow surrounding the course. It took technical officials a few moments to find the ski, before the race could resume.

The event was ultimately won by Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt with two solid, quick runs. The Swiss skier was still uncertain his victory wasn’t a dream, stating, “It’s unbelievable. It was a hard day, with the conditions, with such a long wait between the two runs. It was more than five hours for me, it was such a long time to re-think everything and it was hard to stay focused. I tried to sleep some minutes in between.”

He added, “I actually never dreamt about it but now it still feels like a dream.”

Austria’s Manual Feller was less than pleased with the decision to hold the race. He failed to finish the competition, skiing out of the course during his run.

“Special race,” Feller stated. “I’ve never skied something like this before. Today was the first time I took a nap between two runs. They made a five-hour break. The first run was far from responsible in my opinion. The visibility was so bad you didn’t see anything. The second run they already waited so long till it’s dark again.”

“If you DNF (do not finish) in a race and you are not able to ski next to the gates, because there are so many bumps and so much snow next to the gates, it’s definitely not good conditions.”

He added, “The only positive thing of today is that the best GS (giant slalom) skier of the season is winning.”

Other sporting action on day nine included the Russian Olympic Committee racing to their second relay victory in cross country skiing, and the Netherlands leading from start to the finish to win the women’s 3000m relay in short track speed skating.