The Women Who Have Made History So Far at the 2022 Winter Olympics

The icy athletes who melted our hearts 😍

It’s been a stellar year for athletes young and old at the Winter Olympics, with minorities and under-represented groups going for gold and breaking all kinds of records.

As the end of the Beijing Winter Olympics draw near, the number of historical wins and tallies for 2022 is an ever-growing list. So, we’ve put together a list of the podium-climbing peeps who identify as women and minorities. We love to see representation!

Erin Jackson, first Black woman to win a gold medal in an individual event at the Winter Games.

“[I was] just like, holy crap. And wow. And this is awesome.”

Speedskater, Erin Jackson, told USA Today that while standing on the podium with gold, she had “very simple thoughts” at the magnitude of her achievement.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Erin Jackson (@speedyj)

After winning the women’s 500 meters in speedskating within 37.04 seconds, the 29-year-old American became the first Black woman to win a gold medal in an individual event at the Winter Games.

After recovering from her stunning win, she said “hopefully we can see more minorities…getting out and trying some of these winter sports.”

Jaclyn Narracott, first Australian woman to win a medal in the women’s skeleton.

Here’s a quick history lesson: the sport of ‘skeleton’, which involves hurling oneself head-first through an icy maze at 100km/h, has not been kind to women in the past.

It was decreed in 1920, without any scientific evidence, that women would be banned from the sport… because the rattling would give them breast cancer.

Okay, now fast forward to 2022—only four years after this ban was lifted—and Jaclyn Narracott is now dominating the sport with a silver win in the women’s skeleton. She is the first Australian woman to win a medal in the event.

Even after a career-threatening concussion in 2019, she pulled out all the stops (or rather, didn’t stop), and has gone down in history for it.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Jackie Narracott (@jac_narracott)

Claudia Pechstein, oldest woman to compete in the Winter Olympics.

Now for the icon we all don’t deserve. Claudia Pechstein is a German speedskater who just became the oldest woman to ever compete at the Winter Olympics, at 49 years and 348 days old.

She has won nine Olympic medals in her career, five of which are gold. Killin’ it.

Claudia competed in the 3000m, and here’s a fun fact that will blow your mind: only one of the three medallists she was competing against was alive when Claudia won her first Olympic medal in 1992.

Here’s to more representation of older women in sports!

Ireen Wüst, first athlete to win gold at five different Olympics.

She’s 35 years old and has achieved what some Olympians achieve in one lifetime, five times over.  

Imagine even qualifying for one Olympics. To even get any medal at all. But to get five gold medals in five different Olympics?!

It’s never been done, until now. The speedskater attended her first Olympics in 2006 and has been on a roll ever since, racking up 12 medals altogether.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Ireenw (@ireenw)

Suddenly I have an urge to attend skating lessons and head to the Olympics in 2026?

Header image: @speedyj, @claudiapechstein, @ireenw via Instagram.