Kewaskum speedskater Jordan Stolz leaves the 2026 Winter Olympics as a three-time medalist, including a pair of stellar golds. That makes him the most decorated American athlete at the Milan Cortina Games and cements his place among the best U.S. winter Olympians ever.
Much was expected of Stolz at these Winter Olympics. A dominant World Cup season helped set those expectations. His prowess on the ice shone through when he won gold in his first two races in Milan, the 1,000 meters and 500 meters – and he did so in Olympic record times in both.
After capturing a silver in the 1,500 meters, he became the only U.S. athlete to win two individual gold medals and three medals altogether at the Milan Cortina Games. His two gold medals were part of the 12 gold medals won by the U.S. team overall, the country’s best tally ever in a Winter Games (the U.S. won 33 medals overall).
Stolz hope for a fourth medal came up just short on Saturday when he finished fourth in the mass start in his final race of the Milan Cortina Games. It was a highly successful Olympics for Stolz, nonetheless, as he became the first U.S. Olympian to win three medals in a single Olympics since three athletes – Alpine skier Bode Miller, short track speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno and Nordic combined athlete Johnny Spillane – all accomplished the feat in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.
The 21-year-old phenom, whose calm, almost stoic demeanor often masks his deeply competitive spirit, was trying to become the second U.S. speedskater ever to win three or more gold medals in a single Winter Olympics and just the second American to win three gold medals in any sport at one Winter Games. The only other, Madison native Eric Heiden, won an unprecedented five golds at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, setting four Olympic records and one world record during those Games. Only Stolz and Heiden have achieved the feat of winning gold in both the 500- and 1,000-meter races at a single Olympic Games.
Stolz also became the first U.S. long track speedskater to win three medals in a single Olympics since 2006, when Chad Hedrick won gold, silver and bronze at the Turin Winter Olympics. Heiden and Sheila Young, who won gold, silver and bronze at the 1976 Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria, are the only other long track speed skaters to accomplish the feat.
“I thought it was pretty successful. There’s some things that could have been better, but overall, I’m pretty happy,” the understated Stolz told reporters in Milan when assessing his overall Olympic performance.
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For all of his success in Milan, Stolz had his sights set on even more. He entered the mass start looking to become the first three-time male speedskating gold medalist in a single Olympics since Johann Olav Koss at the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, in his home country of Norway. Legendary Dutch speedskater Irene Schouten won three gold medals at the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022.
Heiden, who was on hand to see Stolz skate multiple races at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, stands alone with five gold medals in speedskating in a single Olympics. Russian skater Lidiya Skoblikova is the only one to capture four golds, which she did at the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria.
Heading into the mass start race, Stolz was the only individual U.S. long track speedskater, man or woman, to win a medal in the Milan Cortina Games. That changed in the women’s mass start when Mia Manganello, skating in her last career race, captured bronze.
The U.S. team of Ethan Cepuran, Casey Dawson and Marquette University graduate Emery Lehman captured a silver medal in the team pursuit competition for the country’s lone speedskating medal outside of those earned by Stolz and Manganello.
On Saturday, Stolz took to the ice with 15 other skaters, all at the same time, something that makes the mass start such a wild card event. Stolz had called the event a “bonus” for him in the Olympics, due to the randomness that comes with the high-traffic, 16-lap race.
Surprisingly, 40-year-old Jorrit Bergsma of the Netherlands and Viktor Hald of Denmark pulled away from the pack just three laps into the race, leaving Stolz and the remaining skaters to decide whether to chase the pair. When no one in the group did, Stolz was left to battle for the bronze medal but came up short when Italian skater Andrea Giovannini slipped past him in the closing sprint.
Stolz’s performance in Milan continues his meteoric rise to becoming the world’s most dominant speedskater, all of which has taken shape since Stolz made the Olympic team for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing as a 17-year-old. At the Beijing Games, he finished 13th in the 500 meters and 14th in the 1,000 meters.
He continues to draw comparison to Heiden, who won races ranging from sprints to long distance and included the 500-, 1,000-, 1,500-, 5,000- and 10,000-meter events. Heiden’s accomplishment came at the same age, 21, as Stolz. Following his historic performance, Heiden immediately retired from speedskating to pursue a career in medicine as an orthopedic surgeon while seeking a life away from the spotlight.
Stolz is already looking ahead to the 2030 Winter Olympics in France.
“There are things I can improve on. I’ll work on that for four years,” Stolz told the media in Milan.
Many of those familiar with Stolz feel he’s still capable of climbing to even greater heights and he’s almost certain to be a force on the ice at the 2030 Winter Games.
“It’s been fun to see the progression because he continues to baffle us with how good he really is,” Dave Tamburrino, a New Berlin resident and two-time Olympic speedskater and former coach, told Milwaukee Magazine. “I’ve always been impressed with how grounded he’s been. To keep that same kind of composure and focus through the success that he’s had to date, I can’t say that a lot of young skaters would have that capacity. He’s got incredible character, which is a breath of fresh air. Not only do you have a guy that’s going to be one of the greatest of all time, he’s just a good person.”
Tamburrino is confident that Stolz has yet to reach his prime. “As long as Jordan wants to go fast, he’s going to go faster. He’s got a lot of development still left in him.”
The shelf life of speedskaters can vary greatly but Stolz is still at the very early stages of his career, provided he stays healthy and desires an extended career on the ice. So it’s almost certain the Stolz, who learned to skate on a frozen pond next to his family’s home in Kewaskum, will continue to make a name for himself on speedskating ovals around the world for years to come. He leaves Milan with three medals and untold memories, especially those tied to his first Olympic gold medal.
“The feeling after winning the 1,000 meters and being the Olympic champion was probably the best feeling that anybody can have,” Stolz said in an interview with NBC’s Olympics studio host Rebecca Lowe. “Just knowing you finally did it, you’ve won a gold medal, and you just carry it for the rest of your life. That’s the best feeling.”
