Stoltz Falls Short of Olympic Milestone
Jordan Stoltz’s aspirations for making history with Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics hit a snag on Thursday.
After already bagging gold medals in both the 1,000 meters and the 500 meters at the Milan Games, Stoltz was aiming for his third gold in the 1,500 meters speed skating event. Achieving this would have placed him alongside the iconic Eric Heiden, who famously earned five gold medals in a single Winter Olympics back in 1980 in Lake Placid.
However, Stoltz’s quest for that significant achievement ultimately fell short.
The American sped alongside Norway’s Peder Konshaug in the final pair of the evening. Prior to their turn, Poland’s Vladimir Semirny had set the early benchmark at 1 minute, 45.37 seconds during the sixth group, but the top contenders, including Stoltz, were yet to take to the ice. Keld Nuis, who had previously claimed gold in this distance twice, was among those competing.
Joep Wenemar, the first contender in that lineup, faced off against Italy’s Daniele Di Stefano as the 11th pair. He had a rough time during the 1,000-meter race but started strong this time, recording 24.97 seconds on his initial full lap. He executed his final lane change skillfully and finished with an Olympic record time of 1 minute, 43.05 seconds, momentarily capturing the lead.
The dynamics shifted when the 13th pair arrived, with China’s Nuis and Ning Zhongyan taking the ice. Nuis was a two-time Olympic champion, but it was Ning who dazzled the crowd by breaking the Olympic record with a 1:41.98, leading the pack and pushing Nuis into second place.
When it was finally Stoltz’s turn, he unfortunately got off to a slow start, struggling to keep up with Ning’s pace in the first two laps. Although he managed to close the gap, he ultimately fell short of claiming that third gold, finishing with a silver medal in a time of 1:42.75.
Nevertheless, there’s a silver lining. Stoltz has another opportunity for gold later this week in the mass start event.
For Ning, this victory is a remarkable turnaround from his seventh-place finish in the 1,500 meters at the Beijing Games four years ago. His previous best result for this distance was fourth place in Norway last year.
The top 10 runners in the men’s 1,500 meters are as follows:
