Olympic Gold Medalist Jordan Stolz Honored in Wisconsin

Coming home with Olympic hardware feels even sweeter when your whole town wants to celebrate with you.

Jordan Stolz, the Wisconsin speedskater who dominated at the Milan Olympics, is being honored with a parade in his hometown of Kewaskum on Friday. The village is going all out, renaming a street after him and putting up permanent signs celebrating their local champion.

"They're making me a local celebrity here," Stolz said. "They're going to put up some signs and stuff, so that's kind of fun."

The 20-year-old's Olympic journey included two gold medals in the 500-meter and 1,000-meter races, plus a silver in the 1,500-meter. He also finished fourth in another event, but Stolz looks back on the entire experience with pride.

"I was able to win two golds, and I had a lot of pressure going into that 1,000-meter, to be able to win the first Olympic gold medal for me," he explained. While the 1,500-meter race didn't go exactly as planned, Stolz said he gave it everything he had.

The celebration started even before the hometown parade. Two weeks ago, Stolz threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Milwaukee Brewers season opener, giving Wisconsin sports fans another chance to cheer for their Olympic hero.

Why This Inspires

Now back home and decompressing from the Olympics, Stolz is finding comfort in the simple things. His family cat, Mitzi, has been waiting for him after every practice session. "Mitzi has always mitigated my pressure," Stolz said. "Every day I come home from practice, and she's always there waiting for me."

The young athlete is taking some well-deserved time off before returning to training at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee. But first comes Friday's parade, where the entire community gets to show their appreciation for the kid from Kewaskum who became an Olympic champion.

Small towns have a special way of celebrating their own, and Stolz's success belongs to everyone who cheered him on.