Olympic speedskaters Brittany Bowe and Erin Jackson are old friends and linked by 2022 gold

MILAN — When Brittany Bowe and Erin Jackson take to the ice at the Milan Cortina Olympics for the women's 1,000 meters in speedskating on Monday, they'll be competing as individuals representing the U.S. and trying to beat each other in hopes of earning another medal for their collections.

They also will share a unique bond. Well, several bonds. They're friends who met two decades ago. They both grew up in Ocala, Florida. They started with inline skating before switching sports. And, perhaps most meaningfully, they're teammates forever linked by what happened four years ago when one (Bowe) offered a spot in the 500 meters at the Beijing Games to the other (Jackson), who went on to collect gold in that event.

“To be a small part of that puzzle was an honor, to say the least. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, and people come into your life for different reasons,” Bowe said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We’ve been able to share our story with a lot of people. Seeing ... how much it touches other people is priceless.”

This is the fourth — and, she says, final — Olympics for Bowe, a two-time bronze medalist; she'll turn 38 on Feb. 24. Jackson, 33, is at her third Games and will defend her 500 title on Feb. 15.

Jackson calls Bowe “an amazing mentor.”

Bowe, who holds the world record in the 1,000, says Jackson “really inspires me.”

Neither is likely to forget what transpired at the U.S. trials in Milwaukee in 2022.

Jackson was the world's best in the 500 at that point and considered a lock to go to the Olympics at that distance. Still, she needed to officially earn that at the trials. In a surprise, Jackson slipped and, although she kept going, finished with the third-best time, meaning she did not manage to qualify for one of the two 500 slots on the American team.

“She wouldn’t have been at the Olympics at all, potentially,” U.S. Speedskating coach Ryan Shimabukuro said.

“When it happened, I’m running through scenarios in my head: ‘How do we navigate this?’” Shimabukuro remembered. “'EJ' took full accountability. She didn’t say, ‘Oh, the selection process is ridiculous. This is stupid.’ That shows what kind of character she has.”

And Bowe, who won the race at the trials, demonstrated the sort of person she is by giving up her place in the Olympic 500 to Jackson (although later, the U.S. got a third berth, which allowed Bowe to participate in that sprint in China, too).

“She was obviously upset, and I went up to her and gave her a hug,” Bowe said. “In my opinion — and, I would argue, in everyone’s opinion — she was the most deserving to start in that event at the Olympic Games. There was no doubt in my mind that I would do whatever it took to give her that spot, even if that meant relinquishing my spot. That was just the clear and obvious choice for me.”

In the locker room after the 500 in Milwaukee, Bowe approached Jackson to console her — and to tell her what she'd decided to do.

“She was really heartbroken for me," Jackson said. “She said if there’s anything that she could do to get me on the team, she was going to do it. ... We went together to the racing officials and told them what we were going to do.”

All this time later, Shimabukuro choked on his words and dabbed at his eyes as he discussed the choice Bowe made.

“I still get emotional thinking about it. There’s not too many athletes that would do that, even if the reasoning is sound,” Shimabukuro said. “I just told her how proud I was of her. ... That’s what makes people great. She’s a great athlete. She’s a great skater. But it’s stuff like that that makes her who she is.”