Heading into the second week of the Olympic Winter Games, one storyline will be centered around speed skater Jordan Stolz of West Bend, Wisconsin, and how many gold medals he could win.
One former American Winter Olympic star is already giving Stolz the highest of praise. This is what American short track speed skating legend Apolo Anton Ohno of Seattle, Washington, who has already said of Stolz on X:
“If he finished inner lane, I think he would have broken the world record too. Nobody can corner like this kid – his physical ability to manage the sheer G-forces in the corner are astonishing. There is no equal. Absolute precision in terms of execution.”
Ohno is an eight-tIme Olympic medalist. He also won eight gold medals at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships.
What world record does Stolz currently have?
Stolz has the world record in the men’s 1000 metres. He posted time of 1:05.37 at a World Cup in Salt Lake City on January 26, 2024.
It just so happens to be that January 26 is the birthday of one of the greatest skaters who has ever lived–hockey legend Wayne Gretzky.
What are Stolz’s Olympic results to date?
Stolz won the gold medal in the men’s 500 metres in an Olympic record time of 33.77. Pavel Kulizhnikov of Russia has the world record with a time of 33.61 set at a World Cup in Salt Lake City on March 9, 2019.
Then in the men’s 1000 metres, Stolz posted a time of 1:06.28. It was half a second faster than Olympic silver medalist Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands.
When can we see Stolz this week?
The American star won the gold medal in the men’s 1500 metres at the 2023 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands and the 2024 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships in Calgary. He also won the World Cup title in the men’s 1500 metres this past year.
Stolz should not be counted out in the men’s mass start either. He won a World Cup in the event in Hamar, Norway in December.
The men’s 1500 metres will take place on Thursday at 10:30 am ET. The men’s mass start will be on Saturday at 9 am ET.
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