The US flag bearer and first Black woman to win Winter Olympic individual gold carries the lessons of Special Forces into Sunday’s 500m speed skating finalOn the ice, Erin Jackson is the picture of control – metronomic in her balance, rhythmic in her stride, a woman whose margins for error are b lade thin. But all that control melted away when the speed skater glided on to Fox’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test reality TV series in fall 2023 for a taste of the grueling training that elite US troops endure.She was part of a motley cast that included former Dallas Cowboys star Dez Bryant, NBA clutch shooter Robert Horry and skier Bode Miller, a fellow Winter Olympic champion. But Jackson was less concerned with outshining her athletic peers than with confronting her own fears. To test her anxiety around swimming, Jackson was strapped into a mock helicopter, submerged in icy water and told to hold her breath for at least 15 seconds before freeing herself, grabbing a lifejacket, and paddling to safety. Continue reading... ...read more read less