Jordan Stolz is as efficient as he is fast.
The American speed skating phenom locked up spots on the U.S. Olympic team in the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 meters at the earliest opportunity possible. After winning the 1,000 meters at the World Cup in Calgary, Alberta, on Friday night, Stolz won the 1,500 meters and finished third in the 500 meters Saturday.
Because Stolz was a medalist at the world championships in March, winning silvers in the 500 and 1,500 meters and a bronze in the 1,000 meters, he had the opportunity to qualify for the Milano Cortina team before the Olympic trials in January. A top-five finish in two World Cups would secure him a spot at that distance; Stolz won in all three distances last weekend in Salt Lake City, the season’s first World Cup.
‘It’s not something I think that hard about,’ Stolz said last weekend when asked about the importance of securing his spots in Milano Cortina ahead of the Olympic trials. ‘I just try and focus on (how I’m) feeling physically. Each race, trying to make it feel a little bit better, get a little more comfortable.’
That Stolz would make the Olympic team was pretty much a given. The 21-year-old has dominated the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 meters the last three seasons, and will be favored for gold in all three races.
Stolz swept the sprint distances at the world championships in 2023 and 2024, and was the overall champion in each of the three races last season. So far this season, he’s won the 1,000 and 1,500 meters at each of the first two World Cups, and medaled in two of his first three 500-meter races. He missed the podium by a mere 0.01 seconds in the third.
But there is something to be said for having qualification out of the way already rather than having to wait until the Olympic trials, which are Jan. 2-5 in Milwaukee, and hope nothing goes wrong. Like what happened four years ago, when Erin Jackson came into trials as the world’s best in the 500 meters, only to slip during her race and finish third.
Jackson made the team when Brittany Bowe, who’d won the race, declined her spot for Jackson. Jackson would go on to win gold in the 500 meters at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
U.S. Speed Skating has since changed its Olympic qualifying procedures. In addition to world medalists being able to secure their spots with two top-five finishes, a skater who is on the podium in the same distance at two World Cups also automatically qualifies for the team.
Jackson will not have to relive her nightmare from four years ago. After second-place finishes last weekend, she was third in the 500 meters Saturday in Calgary, automatically qualifying her for Milano Cortina.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Other Articles
No. 5 Oregon topples Southern California to bolster playoff hopes
Look: Stanford GM Andrew Luck excited as Cardinal return fumble for TD
