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How Jordan Stolz Fared in 500-Meter Speedskating Race—and the History He Made

The 21-year-old is off to a historic start at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Stolz won the gold medal in both the 500-meter and 1000-meter events in men’s speedskating.
Stolz won the gold medal in both the 500-meter and 1000-meter events in men’s speedskating. | Erick Rasco / Sports Illustrated

Jordan Stolz is skating his way to history.

Competing in his second event of the 2026 Winter Olympics, Stolz—who won the gold medal in the 1,000-meter race on Wednesday—etched his name into the record books with a blazing performance on the ice Saturday at the Milano Speedskating Stadium.

Skating in the 13th of 15 pairs in the 500-meter race, Stolz had to beat a new Olympic record set by Canada’s Laurent Dubreuil a few minutes prior of 34.26 seconds. And boy, did he ever.

Through 100 meters, Stolz logged a 9.55-second split—good for fifth place. But he turned on the jets in the final 400 meters and crossed the finish line in 33.77 seconds to set a new Olympic record.

FORDE: It's Time for the Jordan Stolz Era of Speedskating to Begin

Stolz then watched on the ice as the final two pairs couldn’t crack the podium. The gold medal was officially his.

The 500-meter race was looked at as Stolz’s toughest test in the Olympic Games, and he passed with flying colors with the largest margin of victory at the Olympics in the 500-meter race since 1984. He also became the first American skater to win two gold medals in men’s speedskating at a single Olympics since Eric Heiden in 1980; additionally, Stolz and Heiden are the only two men to win the gold medal in the 500- and 1,000-meter events at the Games.

Better yet? He’s not done yet.

What’s next for Jordan Stolz? Schedule of events

The Wisconsin native has two more chances at gold and could exit the 2026 Milan Cortina games with a whopping four gold medals.

Stolz will skate again Thursday in the men’s 1,500-meter competition, and again next Saturday in the men’s mass start.


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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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