It was a record-setting day for Jordan Stolz.
Skating in the next-to-last heat Wednesday, Stolz put down a gold-winning time of 1:06.28, in a field of 30 skaters, but it wasn’t truly his medal until 10 or so excruciating minutes later as he waited for another competitor to complete a re-skate.
Afterward, however, he couldn’t hold back his smile as he won his first Olympic medal at age 21 and simultaneously surpassed the Olympic record of 1:07.18 that had stood since 2002 — before the Wisconsin native was born.
“It was just a feeling like, ‘You finally did it,’ ” said Stolz, who was trailing silver medalist Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands with 400 meters to go. “It almost doesn’t seem real, right?”
Jordan Stolz of United States celebrates with his national flag after winning gold in the men’s 1000m. REUTERS
Stolz still holds the world record of 1:05.37, which he set in 2024.
Behind Stolz, de Boo grabbed silver in 1:06.28 and China’s Ning Zhongyan followed for the bronze in 1:07.34.
“I had high hopes. But his last lap is just incredible,” de Boo said. “I heard him coming at 800 meters, and then I just knew it was too late.”
USA’s Jordan Stolz holds up his gold medal on the podium for the speed skating men’s 1000m event during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Speed Skating Stadium in Milan on February 11, 2026. AFP via Getty ImagesStolz made his Olympic debut at just 17 in the 2022 Beijing Games and finished 13th in the 500-meter sprint and 14th in the 1,000-meter race.
Since then under coach Bob Corby, a former speed skater, Stolz has transformed into a threat on the ice and is now a seven-time champion and is atop the World Cup rankings in several distances.
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“He’s just a killer on the last lap,” Corby said.
It’s just the beginning for the speedskating phenom in Milan.
He has three more chances to chase down another gold to add to his medal collection — the 500 meters, 1,500 meters, and the men’s mass start where racers all start together and race for a total of 16 laps.
Jordan Stolz of Team United States competes during the Speed Skating Men’s 1000m on day five of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Speed Skating Stadium on February 11, 2026 Getty Images“Well, it’s hard to say, ‘Oh, I could win four gold medals,’ when you haven’t won one yet. Now that I’ve won one, I kind of know what to expect and can kind of feel like how the crowd is, with the energy, and the ice,” he said. “So it’s going to be good.”
Only two athletes have ever won four gold medals at a single Winter Games — Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen in 2002 and Soviet speed skater Lidiya Skoblikova in 1964.
American Eric Heiden is in a rink of his own as the only athlete to win five gold medals in a single Winter Olympics, which he accomplished in 1980.
“One gold medal is huge enough, right? It would be super nice to have two, three, right?” Stolz said. “But just having one means a lot.”
— With AP
