Speedskater Jordan Stolz, 17, gains valuable insight after Olympic debut in 500 meters
BEIJING – Jordan Stolz did not medal in the 500, but he learned something important: how the ice feels in the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
And for him, that’s a very specific condition – and it felt different on Saturday night during the race than it had in the many days of practice leading up to his first Olympics.
Since he sharpens his own skates, the ice was a bit challenging.
"It's more so different in practice every day. It's just … everyday it's changing,” said Stolz. “And I sharpen my skates a certain way; like last night for today. And then it was different."
When he prepares for the 1,000-meter race in a week, he said he will remember this ice.
“Now I'm guessing they'll have it like how it is today,” said Stolz.
The 17-year-old was the youngest in the field of 30 of the fastest 500-meter racers in the world and he finished 13th, the top American, with a time of 34.85 seconds.
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China’s Tingyu Gao’s time of 34.32 held on to not only win the gold medal, but declare an Olympic record.
Stolz’s race was clean, without any glaring flaws.
“I'm pretty happy with the lap. The opener just wasn't quite there. But everything else was good,” said Stolz.
“Great race,” said Stolz’s coach, Bob Corby, who was with Jordan’s parents and family at a 3 a.m. watch party back in the West Bend, Wisconsin, area. “Thirteenth is not bad for a 17-year-old.”
Stolz arrived in China on Jan. 25, giving him two and a half weeks to get acclimated to the time change, the food and the surroundings at the National Speed Skating Oval. And he remained focused and kept his chilled demeanor for his time in China.
“I was pretty calm, but of course I was a little bit nervous,” said Stolz. “It was nothing terrible. I just knew I wasn’t the medal favorite, so I just wanted to skate a good race and see what happens. That’s all I really tried to focus on.”
But it still has been a lot of down time, waiting for races, for all the athletes. Stolz said there’s not much to do – someone posted a photo on social media of Americans stacking empty plastic water bottles - but he’s still having fun.
“You can bike in the Village, but you have to borrow a bike and I don’t want to be tired,” said Stolz, who said he slept fine the night before the race.
No real jitters for this kid.
“He just shows up like it’s nothing unusual,” said American teammate Austin Kleba, who finished 27th.
A Youth Olympian two years ago, Stolz burst on the international speedskating scene in December with a pair of World Cup finishes under 35 seconds that earned him a chance to qualify for the U.S. team. And then in Milwaukee at the Trials, he took first in the 500 and 1000 and set track records in both.
Of course, when he won those, Stolz was pretty happy to make the U.S. Olympic team. He hoped for a top-five finish maybe in the Olympics, in the 500, or more likely, his next event, the 1,000. Publicly, he cautioned for everyone to be realistic as he headed to the Olympics.
And then he talked to his coach, Corby, because privately he became even more motivated.
"The day after the Olympic trials, he comes in and says, ‘Do you think I can get three-tenths of a second better in the 1000 meter?’” Corby said a few weeks ago.
“And I said, ‘Well, of course you can. You can pick up one-tenth of a second in the first 600 through a little bit more training. We haven't been lifting weights very much because of all these competitions.
“And, I said, on the last lap of your 1000, which was a phenomenal race - it was first time I've seen you be a little bit tired on the last corner. I think you can pick up two-tenths of a second on the last lap.’
“And he goes, 'Good'.”
Good? Corby asked, why three-tenths?
“And Jordan goes, ‘because that's what Thomas Krol beat me by in Salt Lake City.’
“Thomas Krol. Number one Dutch skater. So I was like, 'Oh, OK, so what did it take you 24, 36 hours to change the goal now? From making the team - now let's see what's it going to take to win this race?"
Corby laughed at the memory but also continues to marvel at Stolz. He texted that he’s sure he will skate faster in a week.
“Jordan is a phenom,” said Kleba. “You should definitely keep an eye on him.”
Half a world away from Milwaukee, with China, Korea and Japan taking the podium in the men’s 500, how will the kid who started skating on his backyard pond fare? We have a week to wait and find out.