In light of the 2022 Winter Olympics occurring during Black history month this year, it’s important to note which Black Americans will be representing Team USA in Beijing this year so that we can tune into their events and cheer for them. The Winter Olympics occur from February 4 until February 20. I have taken the time to look through some of the athletes representing Team USA this year and compiled a list of some of the Black American female athletes that deserve all our hype.
Erin Jackson – Long-Track Speedskating
Erin Jackson, aged 29, and originally from Ocala, FL will be competing in the women’s 500-meter long-track speedskating event, which will be held at 8 am EST on Sunday, February 13. She became the first Black woman to win a World Cup event in November 2021 when she claimed her first place title for this event. Jackson actually started as an inline skater when she was ten years old but made the transition to the ice in 2017. Since then, she has proved that the ice is where she truly belongs.
Maame Biney – Short-Track Speedskating
Maame Biney is 22 years old, and originally from Reston, VA. She will be competing in the women’s 500-meter, 1000-meter, and 1500-meter short-track speedskating events, taking place on February 5, February 9, and February 16, respectively. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Biney became the first Black woman to make the US short-track team, as well as the youngest skater to make that team, at age 18.
Sylvia Hoffman – Bobsled
Sylvia Hoffman is 32 years old and originally from Arlington, TX. She was recruited for the Team USA bobsledding team from being on “The Next Olympic Hopeful” in 2018, after competing in a variety of different sports. The bobsled events occur in four heats over two days and she will be participating in the two-woman bobsled event taking place from February 18-19, though the final pairing of who her partner is is yet to be determined.
Elana Meyers Taylor – Bobsled
Elana Meyers Taylor is 37 years old and was raised in Douglasville, GA. Despite playing many other sports, Taylor has shined through bobsledding as she has competed in the sport since 2007. She has been named a world champion, and is a four-time USABS Women’s Bobsled Athlete of the Year. She is a four-time Olympian and is truly unstoppable. Tune into her events, the two-woman bobsled as a pilot with Kaillie Humphries, and is hoping to also compete in the women’s monobob event on February 13-14.
Kaysha Love – Bobsled
Kaysha Love is from Herriman, Utah, and is 24 years old. Like Hoffman, she is participating in the two-woman bobsled event on February 18-19 and is awaiting her pairing. She was discovered through the USA Bobsled-Skeleton virtual combine in 2020, though she was extremely successful as a track and field athlete before turning to bobsled. She is a first-time Olympian is described as a “brakewoman” for her bobsled team.
While I personally don’t know that much about any of the events in the winter Olympics, I am looking forward to tuning in this year. While researching, I got to learn more about bobsledding and speedskating. Both of these types of events are really fascinating and extremely challenging — I can’t wait to watch these women crush it, and I hope you tune in too.