US teen Jordan Stolz after skating to history: "There is still plenty to gain"
The 18-year-old became the first man to win three individual golds at a speed skating worlds. The skating world has hailed the new star as a youngster "who inspires fear".
Speed Skating
Jordan Stolz has been hailed as the future of speed skating.
The American skater confirmed his pedigree with two historic feats at the World Single Distances Championships at the Thialf arena in Heerenveen, Netherlands, that ended on Sunday (5 March).
The 18-year-old became the first man to win three individual races at the single distances championships, and prior to that, Stolz had become the youngest winner in the history of the Championships with victory in the 500m.
He wrapped up the weekend with gold in the 1000m and then beat Dutch world record holder Kjeld Nuis for the 1500m title.
Jordan Stolz compared to Michael Jordan
Phenomenal, dominant, incredible, extraordinary.
These were some of the words blurted out by skaters and commentators after watching the Wisconsin native skate to history.
Stolz's performances were sublime, with the skating world particularly hailing his perfect execution of the curves.
He was paired with Murakami Yuma in the shortest distance, the 500m – the perfect chance for the Beijing 2022 Olympian to out-do the Japanese rival who beat him to second place at last month's World Cup in Poland. He did just that, and in emphatic fashion.
The teenager, who learnt how to skate on a pond on his parents’ farm, notched the fastest lap anyone has ever skated at sea level in history, finishing in a record time of 34.10.
Canada’s Olympic silver medallist Laurent Dubreuil, who settled for silver in the 500m, hailed the sport's newest star.
“He does things that are impossible,” said Dubreuil, a seasoned skater with a thirteen-year career. “When you get beaten by someone who does something like that, you can’t get mad," he told the Netherlands’s Posten.
"He’s incredible. It feels like you have to beat Michael Jordan. It’s terrifying for an 18-year-old to do this." - Laurent Dubreiul on Jordan Stolz
Olympic champ on Jordan Stolz he 'inspires fear'
A day later, Stolz who is coached by Bob Corby, won his second title – the 1000m in a time of one minute, 7.11 seconds, beating Thomas Krol into silver.
“I think it was almost perfect. Like 99 per cent, maybe there's one thing that could have been done better,” Stolz told ISU after upsetting the home favourite.
“On the back stretch, I kind of went a little wide after entering the draft (of Hein Otterspeer, with whom Stolz was paired), and I chased him a little bit.”
It was a breathtaking ride that left Krol, the Dutch Olympic champion from Beijing 2022, stunned.
“He has a huge amount of speed on 500 (metres), and unfortunately, I cannot close the gap in the last lap either,” 30-year-old Krol admitted to the New York Times.
The double Olympic medallist again experienced Stolz's blistering finish in the 1500m where he settled for bronze.
Stolz blew away the 1500m field on the final day of the four-day championships, clocking one minute, 43.59 seconds ahead of second-placed Dutchman Kjeld Nuis, a double Olympic champion.
"This man inspires fear," 33-year-old Nuis confessed in an interview with Dutch broadcaster NOS.
"That guy can do anything. It looks like he's just chilling out a bit, he's riding 1,500 metres that way.
"We're going to have a lot of trouble with him in the coming years. And that's good for the sport." - Kjeld Nuis on Jordan Stolz
Krol agrees.
“You don't expect such progress in someone his age. At least he has his age on board – and that does not apply to us (older skaters).
"The question is where this ends. It is physiologically impossible for him to continue to make such progress. Does he say that he can definitely improve another 20 per cent? That means that he will do a 32-er in the 500m. I hope to experience it."
Stolz, who was inspired to speed skating after watching Apolo Anton Ohno at the 2010 Vancouver Games, remained modest about his achievements.
“It does surprise me,” he offered shyly in an interview with NOS when asked whether he was shocked by his performances.
“I don’t expect to be skating that much faster than the best skaters in the world but somehow, I am. I guess I wrote some history…there is still plenty to gain."
During the World Junior Championships in February, Stolz also won the 500m, 1000m and the 1500m.
He is now only the third speed skater ever to claim junior and senior world titles in the same season, after fellow Wisconsin skaters Eric Heiden and Beth Heiden.