MILAN – For quite some time now, Jordan Stolz’s talent and dominance as a speedskater, and his much-anticipated potential for Olympic success, have led many to repeatedly mention his name – prematurely, no doubt – alongside Eric Hayden. Now they’re actually in the same sentence, at least in one respect.
In the midst of her goal of four at the Milan Cortina Games, Stolz established herself as a two-time Olympic gold medalist by winning the 500 meters on Saturday, following up her victory in the 1,000. Those twin wins allowed Stolz, 21, of Wisconsin, to join Hayden as the only men to complete a 500-1,000 double in speedskating at an Olympics.
“I mean, I think it’s halfway, but it’s hard to say it’s a 50% chance of getting the other two,” Stolz said. “Because you never know what can happen.”
Of course, Heiden completed a record sweep for the United States in all five individual events at the 1980 Lake Placid Games, including everything from the 500 to the 10,000.
With Hayden in the stands on Saturday, Stolz completed the 500 in an Olympic-record time of 33.77 seconds, also setting a Games mark in her victory in the 1,000. Both times, silver went to Jennings de Boo of the Netherlands, who clocked 33.88 in the lowest speedskating event. Both times, they raced head-to-head in the same heats.
Stolz said, “We push each other. She’s really strong. I’m really strong, too. It’s really cool to see.” “I think I like being paired together. It makes it more fun for the audience.”
Stolz felt that a score of 500 would be his toughest test in Milan. He was moving ahead from the last turn. They were also entering the final stages. But Stolz, who overcame the 1,000 deficit, turned on the pace and leaned across the line again for first. De Boo then slipped and hit the wall, while Stolz skated forward and shook his right fist.
Canada’s Laurent Dubreuil got the bronze medal with a time of 34.26 seconds.
The last American to win Olympic gold in the men’s 500 was Joey Cheek in 2006.
The soft-spoken Stolz admits that, yes, his goals are high, and, of course, he is pleased by the comparisons to Haydn. But Stolz, who hasn’t entered Milan for 5,000 or 10,000, also knows he’s not trying to recreate the same kind of unprecedented and omnipresent performance by Haydn.
Still, Stolz has real hopes of four medals, maybe even four gold, as he tries in his second Winter Games.
“He goes to the starting line,” said Hayden, who is also from Wisconsin and, like Stolz, learned to skate on a frozen pond in the backyard, “and I would suspect he thinks he’s probably going to win.”
When Stolz walked off the ice with the gold after the 500, Hayden greeted him and hugged him.
First gold? Stolz’s father Dirk said that Jordan slept with it on his pillow the night after the 1,000.
Dirk Stolz said, “You see some athletes, only mentally – they may be fine physically, but suddenly the pressure comes and it affects their performance.” “And I don’t see it with Jordan at all.
At Beijing in 2022, at just 17 years old, Stolz finished 13th in the 500 and 14th in the 1,000. However, since then, he has established himself as one of the best in the world in his sport, including two world titles each in the 500, 1,000 and 1,500. And right now, Stolz is still living up to the huge expectations and pressure that comes with them, following her every move on the ice at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, a temporary facility built for the event.
Two races, two golds, two Olympic records.
“He doesn’t seem to get tired,” Dubreuil said. “I really don’t understand how this is possible for anyone.”
There are now two more races for six-time world champion Stolz: the 1,500 meters on Thursday, and the mass start on February 21.
The last person to win three gold medals in speedskating at a Winter Games was Johan Olav Koss of Norway, who won the 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 at the 1994 Lillehammer Games.
Stolz took to the ice to warm up about two and a half hours before his race on Saturday. He stopped at one point and took a seat on the low planks at the edge of the ice, re-tied his black and green skates and smiled while chatting with his coach, Bob Corby.
No trace of veins. not at all.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a walk in the park,” Stolz said. “I still have to do the right things.”
