Kewaskum's Jordan Stolz had a record-setting weekend in World Cup speed skating. Here's a recap.
Jordan Stolz made history at the ISU World Cup at the Utah Olympic Oval last weekend.
The 19-year-old from Kewaskum won four gold medals – in the 500 meters, the 1,000, twice, and the 1,500.
One of those 1,000 races – last Friday – was a world record.
And two more races – the 1,500 and the 500 – set national records.
What is remarkable is that while this venue is famous for being fast, the air pressure was high for all three days of the competition, which is why the world record was stunning. (The reduction of air pressure at higher altitudes increases the opportunity for faster skating and medal-winning chances).
Here’s a breakdown of Stolz's performances:
World record 1,000 meters
Only one man had ever skated the 1,000 race in less than 1:06: Pavel Kulizhnikov of Russia, who set the world record at 1:05.69 at the Utah Olympic Oval in 2020.
Stolz set a new record at 1:05.37 - and the .32 seconds faster time was a major surprise.
“I can’t believe it,” Stolz told International Skating Union (ISU).
The gap between Stolz and the rest of the field was 1.60 seconds, with Ning Zhongyan of China taking second.
Stolz’s performance was called “otherworldly” according to Canadian sprinter Laurent Dubreuil.
ISU reported that Stolz’s opening lap in 16.12 seconds was .05 seconds quicker than Kulizhnikov‘s opening in the record-breaking race in 2020. With a 24.1-second lap, Stolz took another .03 seconds off Kulizhnikov’s time. But it was the final lap of 25.0 that sealed the new record.
“I knew I was going fast,” Stolz told ISU. “I just wanted to be fast enough to maybe get close to the old record, but I didn't expect it to be 3/10ths.
“I knew I had to get a really fast first lap, and then I figured maybe I'm strong enough to hold the second lap. The second inner, I felt really comfortable. I felt like I really carried my speed, and I saw the 16.1 (opener) on the backstretch, and then the outer, I just attacked as hard as I could. And straightaway on the front stretch, I still felt like I had power. I just felt like I had power the entire race."
National record 1,500
Stolz set the American 1,500 record in 1:40.87. He missed out on the world record by .70 seconds. However, the ice was again not optimal at the Utah Olympic Oval on Saturday, with the air pressure high due to weather conditions, so the racing performance by Stolz was still incredible.
“A lot of people are expecting a world record, but it’s not that easy,” Stolz told ISU. “It’s still a really good race. The main thing I was focusing on is having a good opener and a fast first lap. I had an opener of 23.1, and then I felt like I carried the speed from the opener, but it's only a 24.9 (first full lap), and then I started scrambling after that.
"I just didn't have it in the first lap. I think the air pressure was also not great, so (last Saturday) would probably be like the hardest day to get the records.”
National record 500
With a time of 33.96 on Saturday, Stolz set the national record in the 500 as well. This is also impressive, since Stolz has pushed his training all year to cover several distances, from the fastest sprint like this race, to the longer races. At times, his 500 race was a bit slower; but obviously not last weekend, where he brought the time back to super elite.
As for the World Cup event, it was unusual to have two 1,000 races. One source said that coaches may have wanted more sprint races in the program, and that's why there were two; but debunked the rumor that US Speedskating requested a second 1,000 race because Americans are strong in that event.
But even that wasn’t enough racing for Stolz. He felt good enough to continue to push himself in the distance races as well, and last weekend in the 5,000 he skated in 6:25.28, just five seconds slower than his personal best. He took 15th place there - but more importantly, he is setting himself up as a strong 2024 World Allround championship contender.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kewaskum Jordan Stolz record-setting weekend in World Cup speedskating
