Teen skating sensation Jordan Stolz breaks incredible world record
Jordan Stolz proved yet again what a phenomenon he is at the Salt Lake City World Cup in January 2024, improving the world record in the 1000m to 1:05.37. That is 32 hundredths of a second faster than Russian Pavel Kulizhnikov's previous best time, as per The Guardian.
Stolz is already looking like one of the most dominant winter sports athletes. At the 2023 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships, the young American became the first man to win three individual golds at speed skating competitions.
The young American finished an extraordinary few days of success by becoming the first male skater to win three individual golds at a single-distance world speed championship. A remarkable achievement at such a young age.
Stolz's victory in the 1500m alongside his 1000m and 500m wins left everyone on edge. His run time of 1:43.5 seconds during the 1500m competition was good enough to beat double Olympic champion Kjeld Nuis.
If Stolz keeps these numbers up and continues to develop his growth, he could very well become a big Olympic superstar. “I felt really good this weekend, better than I have all year, and also peaking too,” Stolz shared with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel at the time.
His win in the 500m also made him the youngest gold medalist in the history of the world single-distance championships. The young athlete is already breaking records!
Stolz began his skating adventure at an early age, on his family's three-acre backyard pond in the small village of Kewaskum, Wisconsin. His big inspirations were Apolo Anton Ohno and his great short-track exploits. If the young champion continues to grow at this rhythm, he will most likely surpass Apolo Anton.
After initially training in short track, Stolz moved toward the long track after a few years and began winning national championships when he was in fifth grade. Ever since then, the young champion has been climbing the ranks.
He became the youngest man to win an individual World Cup race in 2022 in Stavanger, while simultaneously breaking all track records. Stolz later dominated the junior championships, with sweeping victories in every competition.
Stolz is now only the third speed skater in history to win the junior and senior world titles in the same season, just like Eric Heiden (1977-1978) and Beth Heiden in the ‘70s.
“With all the races earlier in the year, and a lot of hard training, I came here and I just rested for 10 days. And I just felt super good on the ice. So technically, yeah, I think it was the best time ever skated, especially in the 500 and 1000. The 1500 was pretty good - near perfect,” said Stolz after his jaw-dropping performance in the 2023 World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships, as per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The way Stolz is performing in all three racing categories gives way to thinking we will be seeing the young American representing his country in the next winter Olympics in Italy (2026).