After intense training and new challenges with Dutch team, Jordan Stolz is ready to launch new speedskating season
The last we heard from Jordan Stolz, he was sweeping all three sprint events at the speedskating world championships in March.
Since then, the 19-year-old from Kewaskum spent the spring and summer months at home in Wisconsin training with his usual workout routine with long-time coach Bob Corby.
The ever-disciplined and determined Stolz also rode the dirt and gravel roads of Montana, pedaled the steep alps of Italy and found a non-American team to sponsor him.
He’s now ready to launch the new skating season this weekend at the Pettit National Ice Center in what will be a rare opportunity for fans at home to watch him skate in person.
Stolz has gotten stronger and more powerful, adding about 10 pounds of muscle since his Olympic debut in February 2022 as a 17-year-old. He won worlds after a diverse season in which he spread his wings and experimented with more distances. And his growth and strength were evident again last weekend at the Pettit Center when, during international time trials, he set a track and sea-level world record in the 1,500 meters at 1 minute 42.8 seconds, just about four weeks after the rink was opened for the season.
“He's pretty much unbelievable,” Corby said this week. “He does stuff almost two or three times a week that I just shake my head and go, what in the world?
“Like Saturday, that 1,500-meter time, that was the world record for 1,500 meters at sea level. No one has ever skated faster. The old record was 143 flat and he went 142.8.
“It’s the lowland world record. The real world record at altitude is 1:40.1; almost a three-second difference, but I mean, that's what he did. And I go, ‘Hey, were you trying that hard?’ And he just gets a big smile on his face and goes, 'Nah. I tried really hard to get up to speed but once I got up to speed, I was like, yeah, you know, I'll just cruise here.'"
The 2023-24 season semi-formally kicks off Thursday through Sunday with the U.S. long track championships and World Cup qualifiers at the Pettit. Big skating names will race here.
If the U.S. championships seem earlier than normal, that's because they are. The purpose of this event is to select the team for the first half of the World Cup season, which begins in November. The championships used to be in Milwaukee in January to establish the second half of the World Cup season, but having this now is a way to align with the International Skating Union's global schedule.
Admission for fans is free and racing generally will start daily at 9 a.m. and wrap at 2 p.m. Exact times for Stolz aren’t yet known – the pair draws won’t be made until Thursday night. As of Monday, Stolz was planning to race the 500, 1,000, 1,500, 5,000 and mass start.
Training in the Netherlands a different experience for Jordan Stolz
Really, the multi-talented Stolz appears to be ready for anything after a spectacular offseason.
In August he went to Butte, Montana, to cycle with a couple of other speedskaters, challenging each other at higher elevations while riding on gravel roads.
“I was there for two weeks, so I had some of the altitude benefits from then,” Stolz said.
Then, after inking a sponsorship deal with Team Albert Heijin Zaanlander from the Netherlands earlier this year, Stolz took advantage of two very unique opportunities.
First he trained with the team in Amsterdam on the ice, even though they are "marathon" skaters. Zaanlander is a long-distance skating team, racing distances much different from what Stolz has been known for. Training camp was for a week or two and a chance to experience something different while learning along the way.
It was a calculated decision on the young skater’s part. Stolz feels that occasional training at longer distances right now and working with Team Zaanlander coach Jillert Anema significantly increases his endurance and helps his overall competitive pursuits.
“At home I do my sprint training and in the Netherlands I can discover my potential on the long distances with the marathon drivers,” Stolz told the Dutch media this summer through a translator. “It’s important to innovate and try one or two new parts, which I might add to my program.
“I know how I want it, but I am open to adjustments; Jillert wants to try a few things. If it works I will continue with it; and otherwise I’ll return to my old routines. I think I’m good enough to test different things, without getting into trouble.”
Jordan Stolz's spectacular season caught the eye of Dutch skating team
That’s been a recipe for success for him for about a year. After steady improvement with each World Cup race last season, Stolz crushed the junior world championships this spring, medaling in all distances from 500 to 5,000.
And then he peaked at the world single-distance championships in March, where in Heerenveen, Netherlands, he won gold in the 500 (34.10), 1,000 (1:07.11) and 1,500 (1:43.59). He is the first man to win three individual gold medals in the event.
Anema watched Stolz for the first time at the worlds and wanted to work with the young Wisconsinite.
“We got acquainted just a few hours before he had to go in a plane back to America,” Anema said in a phone interview. “The first time I talked with Jordan, we had right away, a click. And the way he skated, it was, 'I think I want to help that guy. He's spectacular.’
“We talked for five or 10 minutes. I offered him a spot in our team just to give my knowledge to them, to Bob Corby and to Jordan.”
In early fall, Stolz traveled with Team Zaanlander to various mountain cycling routes around Livigno, an Italian ski town near the Switzerland border, where the team cycled some of the toughest climbs in Europe. That’s finally where Stolz found a gripping challenge, with the altitude training and time trial in Stelvio. It’s a well-known mountain climb for elite riders.
“I'm kind of at a disadvantage because of my weight and it's a pretty big climb,” Stolz said. “I would definitely not call myself a climber. And then the only part where it's flat was going through the valley, it was just a headwind."
The training was a success. Stolz found Team Zaanlander welcoming and friendly even when there might have been a language barrier. Others would try to translate their Dutch to his English.
“It was good to get a change of scenery because sitting at home all summer … like riding on the same roads every single day, doing weights the same spot for five months … it's bad,” he said.
While his time with the team was brief, Stolz will continue to work with Team Zaanlander occasionally through the upcoming season, with plans to include a week-long stay in the Netherlands to train before one of the World Cup races.
“He’s been training with Bob Corby and the way that they did it is of course very good because he became a world champion,” Anema said. “It's better of course not to interfere because they are doing, already, very good.
“There’s also a benefit for the (Zaanlander) skaters that they can watch him skate and Jordan benefit from the team spirit and of course, the high standard that we have.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Jordan Stolz ready for U.S. speedskating championships in Milwaukee
