Jordan Stolz Eyes 4 Golds With His Lucky World Record Skates

Jordan Stolz has been waiting a year and a half to lace up his favorite pair of skate blades again.

The 21-year-old speedskating sensation saved the exact skates he used to set a 1,000-meter world record, keeping them pristine for his Olympic debut in Milan. In a sport where athletes obsess over equipment, Stolz takes it to another level: he sharpens his own blades, visits the factories where they're made, and once tried on more than 75 pairs before finding the perfect fit.

Now he's betting those lucky blades will help him make history. Stolz qualified for all four individual speedskating events and enters each race as the favorite to win gold.

The Wisconsin native first fell in love with skating at age 5 while watching Apolo Ohno compete in the 2010 Olympics with his sister Hannah. Their dad turned the family's backyard pond into a rink, and despite slipping all over the ice at first, Jordan was hooked.

By 16, he was winning U.S. titles. At 17, he competed in his first Olympics in Beijing, learning crucial lessons about rest, preparation, and performance under pressure.

Today, Stolz holds multiple world records and has become a household name in the Netherlands, where speedskating rivals football in popularity. Dutch fans stop him on the street, and he's even gotten out of a parking ticket thanks to his celebrity status there.

Back home in the U.S., he's still building his fame. Until a year ago, Stolz didn't have a single American sponsor, but that's changing fast with deals from Honda and Polo Ralph Lauren.

Why This Inspires

Stolz represents something special for American winter sports. Comparisons to Eric Heiden, who won five individual golds in 1980, aren't just hype. The young skater embraces the pressure of potentially inspiring the next generation of American speedskaters, just as Ohno inspired him.

He's refreshingly direct about his goals too. When asked about his Olympic hopes, Stolz said he'd like four medals, then clarified with a smile: "Gold."

His meticulous preparation, from eating only plain rice before races to saving his world-record skates for the biggest stage, shows the dedication behind natural talent. Even his rescue cat Mitzi has a sponsorship deal with pet food company Nulo.

At home in Wisconsin, Stolz eats dinner on the couch with Mitzi every night. In Milan, he's ready to show the world what American speedskating can be.