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Speedskaters Erin Jackson and Jordan Stolz proudly represented Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics last month.
Jackson, who was the first Black woman to win speedskating gold when she did it at the 2022 Olympics, entered the Olympics as one of half the flag bearers during the opening ceremonies. Though she didn’t come away with a medal at these Games, she held her head high throughout each speedskating event.
Stolz walked away from the Milan Cortina Games with three medals. He won golds in the 500- and 1,000-meter races and a silver in the 1,500-meter race.
Both Team USA stars partnered with Hershey’s for its happiness as “the real gold” campaign before the Games began. Jackson and Stolz both received Hershey’s chocolate gold medals and were a part of commercials during the Olympics.
Jackson said in one of the campaign spots that “happiness is definitely more important than winning.” She explained to Fox News Digital how she kept that in mind while trying to keep a competitive edge against the best speedskaters in the world.
“I think one thing that I’ve always kept in mind and kept in perspective is that winning isn’t everything and losing isn’t the end of the world,” Jackson said. “I think I have more of a laid-back attitude around what I do because, I don’t know, maybe because I didn’t grow up as an athlete. I grew up as more of a student.
“Skating was primarily a hobby for me. I grew up just doing this for fun. It’s always something I love to do. So, all of this, it just feels like a bonus, like a really nice bonus, to get to travel the world and do this for a living. I’m gonna have a good time out there no matter what and I feel like that gives me a bit of calm going into these events and just knowing that, no matter what, everything’s gonna be OK. Winning is awesome, but losing, it always gives you something to learn and kind of apply for next time.”
Jackson shared what she learned from her experience this time around, given that she went home without a medal.
“I think this one taught me a lot about resilience and bouncing back. I mean, these past few seasons have been a little bit tough for me with some injuries. I’ve been dealing with and then this one, specifically, I lost a big chunk of my season being out with injuries,” she told Fox News Digital. “It’s taught me I can still kind of fight my way back after all of that. Of course, I always want to win a medal, but I’m really happy with how I was able to come back this season, and it’s always a learning experience and a growing experience.”
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For Stolz, the support of his family to get to this point meant a lot to him. They were showcased in Hershey’s campaign.
He said the campaign was “really authentic and genuine” toward him and his family.
Stolz opened up about some of the sacrifices his family had to go through for him to even be able to be in the competition for a gold medal.
“Yeah, they’ve sacrificed a lot,” he told Fox News Digital. “Just getting me to the rink and, of course, funding speed skating itself. My dad worked a third shift and my mom was working during the day. So it’s like, my mom would pick me up from the rink after my dad would drop me off, so it’s a lot of back and forth driving and just a lot of time.
“They put a lot into it, and it’s also, like, traveling to different competitions and, of course, the belief that they had that I could be good someday. And my mom was super optimistic about that. My dad was maybe more on the other side of like, hopefully he’s going to be really good. And it ended up working out well. And I’m just happy to be able to race at the Olympics in front of them. Because of course, in China, we didn’t get that opportunity. And it felt really good to be able to win in front of them and make them proud.”
Above all, both Olympic athletes expressed what it meant to them to represent Team USA on the global stage.
“It’s an honor. There’s a lot of pride that goes into it,” Jackson said. “I feel like the Olympics, it’s a really great time that brings everyone together. Everyone can sit in front of their TV and cheer for Team USA, and it’s awesome to be someone they can watch and cheer on and just have a good time for those two weeks. It’s really cool to be a part of that.”
Stolz said he was “super ecstatic” to hear the national anthem when he was on top of the podium receiving his gold medal.
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“Well I was super ecstatic to hear the national anthem when I was on the podium,” he said. “I think it was the best part, just hearing that and support your country, right? To me that means a lot. It was the first I ever heard I think it was the world championships they played it.
“And it’s just something that stood out because it’s not another country’s anthem that’s playing so it makes you feel really good about what you did and also for the country. I was happy to be able to get three medals out of it so that was super nice.”
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