Jordan Stolz Wins First Olympic Gold After 15-Minute Wait

American speedskater Jordan Stolz sat on a curb in the middle of an ice oval, wrapped in a flag, watching thousands of Dutch fans wave orange and wondering if his first Olympic gold medal was really his.

The 21-year-old had just clocked an Olympic record time of 106.28 seconds in the 1,000 meters, beating Dutch rival Jenning de Boo by a razor-thin margin. But race officials had just announced that another Dutch skater, Joep Wennemars, would get a do-over after being illegally blocked by a Chinese competitor.

So Stolz waited. The scoreboard showed Wennemars walking down a hallway, half-dressed and scrambling to prepare for a second race in one afternoon.

"I didn't think he would beat my time," Stolz said later. He was right. Wennemars finished tired in fifth place, and Stolz could finally celebrate.

The victory came down to Stolz's signature move. With 200 meters left in his race against de Boo, the Dutch skater heard a sound he's learned to dread: the churning of Stolz's blades coming up fast behind him.

"You hear his skates coming and it's pretty creepy as well," de Boo admitted after winning silver. "When you know he is coming, it is not a nice feeling."

Stolz has won nearly every 1,000-meter race he's entered since early 2024, methodically overtaking competitors in the final lap. Wednesday's win followed the same script.

Why This Inspires

At just 21, Stolz is chasing history. He's aiming for four gold medals at these Olympics, which would make him only the second American speedskater ever to win more than two golds at a single Games. The last was Eric Heiden, who took five in 1980 and was actually in the stands Wednesday, standing next to Snoop Dogg and waving an American flag.

Stolz races next in the 500 meters on Saturday, then the 1,500 meters on February 19 and the mass start on February 21. The pressure is building, but he's keeping perspective.

"There's a little bit less pressure now that I've got one gold medal," Stolz said, smiling. "This one gold medal is huge enough, right? Just having one means a lot."

Three more races, three more chances to hear that sound Dutch skaters dread.