Jordan Stolz Wins Gold in Men’s 500m Speed Skating

In an impressive display, 21-year-old American Jordan Stoltz secured another gold medal in the men’s 500-meter speed skating event, while also shattering an Olympic record that had just been set minutes before his race.

Stoltz made a remarkable finish with a time of 33.77 seconds—just 0.16 seconds shy of the world record—and edged out the silver medalist by a narrow margin of one-tenth of a second.

On the ice with him was Jennings de Vu from the Netherlands, who clocked in at 33.88 seconds. This event marked a historic moment in the Olympics, as it was the first time the men’s 500 meters had been completed in under 34 seconds.

Interestingly, just moments earlier, Canada’s Laurent Dubreuil had broken the previous Olympic record, finishing in 34.26 seconds, but he had to settle for a bronze medal.

Before Saturday, the Olympic record stood at 34.32 seconds.

Stoltz made history by becoming the first American to win two gold medals in speed skating since Eric Heiden achieved this feat in 1980. He had also clinched gold in the 1,000 meters earlier in the competition. Furthermore, this victory marked the first time an American won the 500-meter event since Joey Cheek took gold in Italy back in 2006.

Remarkably, this was Stoltz’s second Olympic record, having previously set the 1,000-meter record at 1:06.28, while already holding the world record of 1:05.37 from Salt Lake City in 2024.

Stoltz shared the ice with De Bouw, who also earned a silver medal in the 1,000 meters. Entering the Olympics, Stoltz was considered one of the top speed skaters globally, boasting an impressive 17 international titles prior to arriving in Milan.

Looking ahead, Stoltz is set to compete in the 1,500 meters, an event where he’s won four world championship titles, and he’s expected to participate in the team event later in the tournament, so it seems there’s still more to come from this remarkable athlete.