Jordan Stolz began skating on a
frozen pond in Wisconsin. He seeks a 3rd Olympic gold Thursday
[February 18, 2026]
By HOWARD FENDRICH
MILAN (AP) — Jordan Stolz's path to multiple speedskating gold
medals at the Milan Cortina Olympics began at age 5 in front of a TV
at home in Wisconsin, sitting with his older sister, Hannah, to
check out the 2010 Vancouver Games.
“They saw the opening ceremonies. Everything looked pretty and cool.
They loved it. Then they started watching the figure skating — and I
turned around, and both kids were gone. They were unimpressed,”
their mother, Jane, recalled. “And then Apolo Ohno came on for short
track, and — Boom! — they were right back into it and watching, They
liked skiing, too. They liked anything fast, really. They really got
obsessed with the speedskating, for some reason.”
Soon, their father, Dirk, was in the family's backyard, clearing
snow off a frozen pond so the kids could try skating — while wearing
lifejackets, at Mom's insistence. “I remember going out there," Dirk
said, "and Jane's yelling at me, ‘They're not going out on that ice!
They're going to fall through the ice!’” And, well, here we are:
Jordan Stolz, now 21, already owns a pair of golds from Milan seeks
another in Thursday's 1,500 meters.
“It’s a success, but it’s more so of a partial success if I don’t
win the 1,500,” Stolz said after winning the 500 on Saturday to
follow up on his victory in the 1,000 on Feb. 11, both in
Olympic-record times, “just because I've been so good in that
distance for so long. So I hope I can win that one.”
Truth is, he's so good at every distance he commits himself to. That
includes a pair of world titles each at 500, 1,000 and 1,500.
Stolz’s origin story is an oft-told tale, particularly well-known to
those who follow speedskating, yet it bears repeating as the
American continues his quest for a total of four titles at these
Olympics; he's also entered in the mass start on Saturday.
Thinking back all those years to when he cheered for Ohno, an
eight-time medalist for the U.S., the generally soft-spoken Stolz's
voice rises.
“That really intrigued me. That was something that caught my eye,”
Stolz said. “All the other sports didn’t really interest me.”
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Jordan Stolz of the U.S. warms up for the men's 1,000 meters
speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy,
Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
What was it about speedskating?
“Just watching them go really fast and pass each other,” Stolz said,
noting that he started off in Ohno's sport, short track, before
shifting the focus to long track about 10 years later. “It was
something I actually paid attention to.”
Now the world is paying full attention to him. And he has not shown
a single sign of being bothered by the expectations that accompany
him at his second Olympics.
As it is, he is only the second man in history to complete the
500-1,000 speedskating double at one Winter Games, joining Eric
Heiden, who collected five golds at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.
Heiden, who also grew up skating on a Wisconsin pond, has been
following Stolz's career for years and attended his first two events
in Milan.
“If you have confidence and mental toughness, it’s easy. For me, it
was the same thing,” Heiden said. “You're physically skilled, you’re
mentally tough. Jordan is the same thing. He goes to the starting
line and, I would suspect, he thinks he's probably going to win.”
At about midnight the nights before his first two races, Stolz
called his parents for a quick chat. When they spoke after the 500,
he sent his mom a photo of that gold medal sitting on his pillow.
Next on the to-do list for Stolz would be becoming the first man
since Johann Olav Koss at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics to grab
three victories in long track speedskating at one Winter Games (the
Norwegian won the 1,000, 1,500 and 5,000).
“If I have a good 1,500,” Stolz said, “it should turn out well. I’m
hoping for gold in that.”
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