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Jordan Stolz: World’s Youngest Speed Skating Champ

On Friday March 3, 18-year-old Jordan Stolz became the youngest person ever to win a world speed skating gold medal. As the weekend went on, he won two other gold medals, defeating Olympic champions in each of those events.

The World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships are for speed skaters who race in one distance, such as 500 meters or 1,000 meters. In each single event, two athletes race around an icy track at speeds as fast as 35 mph (56 kph).

Stolz is from Kewaskum, Wisconsin. He began skating on a small pond in his family’s backyard. When he was five years old, he saw speed skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics on TV. He suddenly became very interested in learning to skate fast.

Jordan Stolz (right) races Yuma Murakami in the 500-meter race at the 2023 Speed Skating World Championships in Heerenveen in the Netherlands on March 3, 2023.
The World Single Distance Speed Skating Championships are for speed skaters who race in one distance. In each event, two athletes race around an icy track at speeds as fast as 35 mph (56 kph). Above, Jordan Stolz (right) races Yuma Murakami in the 2023 500-meter race.
(Source: US Speedskating.)

By the time he was in fifth grade, Stolz was winning national championships. In high school, he went to school online so that he could train for up to six hours a day.

Last November, Stolz earned two gold medals during the 2022–23 ISU Speed Skating World Cup, making him the youngest male to win a World Cup race.

Then, in February, Stolz won four gold medals at the 2023 World Junior Speed Skating Championships. The medals were for 500-meter, 1000-meter, and 5000-meter races, and the team sprint.

Stolz’s coach, Bob Corby, says one of Stolz’s greatest talents is the way he is able to take the corners in the curving track at high speeds. “Everyone is extremely impressed with the way he goes around corners,” says Mr. Corby.

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Stolz’s coach says one of Stolz’s greatest talents is the way he is able to take the corners in the curving track at high speeds. That helped him win the 500-meter championship race (above). The win made Stolz the youngest person to ever win a world speed skating gold medal.

That ability helped him out at the speed skating championships in early March. In the 500-meter race, Stolz passed his opponent, Yuma Murakami, on the final curve. It only took him 34.10 seconds to cover a distance longer than five football fields.

The win made Stolz the youngest person to ever win a world speed skating gold medal. Stolz continued to win over the rest of the weekend, also taking gold in the 1000-meter and 1500-meter races.

In the 1000-meter race, he defeated Thomas Krol of the Netherlands, who won the Olympic gold medal for the race in 2022. In the 1500-meter race, he defeated both Krol and Kjeld Nuis, who won the Olympic gold medal for the event in 2018 and 2022.

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Stolz continued to win over the rest of the weekend, also taking gold in the 1000-meter and 1500-meter races. He defeated Olympic gold medal champions in each event. Above, Stolz celebrates after winning the 1500-meter race.

Stolz’s times for the 500-meter race and the 1000-meter race were the second fastest times ever recorded at sea level. (Most speed skating records are set high above sea level.)

His wins mean that Stolz is the first person to win both the junior championships and adult championships in three separate events in the same year.

Stolz’s speed and strength have amazed many people. Some people are comparing him to Eric Heiden, a speed skater who won 5 gold medals in the 1980 Olympics.

One of his opponents, Canadian skater Laurent Dubreuil, says he has been trying to imitate the way Stolz goes around corners. Dubreuil took second place in the 500-meter race. He says Stolz’s skating style is “just something that I don’t think I’ve seen in a speed skater before.”

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