US speed skating star eyes Winter Olympics glory after pneumonia battle and gruesome bike crash

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2. Winter Olympics

Jordan Stolz is still only 21 years old but believes he is ready to shine at the Winter Olympics in February

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Jordan Stolz, the American speed skating sensation, is heading to next year's Milano Cortina Games brimming with a confidence forged by a meteoric rise and a string of world-beating performances.

Just three years after his Olympic debut as a teenager, the now 21-year-old has transformed from a prodigious talent into one of the sport's fastest sprinters, with six world championship golds and multiple world records to his name.

Since finishing 13th in the 500 metres and 14th in the 1,000 at the age of 17 in his first Winter Olympics, Stolz has cemented his reputation.

His impressive haul includes a world record in the 1,000 metres, providing ample reason for his high expectations of securing at least one medal at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium next February.

Reflecting on his journey, Stolz told Reuters: "Going into this year, I feel like, I'm way better than I was going into 2022. I have way more experience too with the World Cups and nutrition and planning and jet lag.

“So I don't really see too many obstacles. I don't really let too many things get into my head now. If I have a really perfect race, which I think I'll be able to, it should be a good result."

Stolz’s path to the ice began after he was captivated by his country's most decorated winter Olympian, Apolo Ohno, at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

A significant boost came when his father installed a floodlit track on the pond at their Kewaskum, Wisconsin, home, providing an unconventional but effective training ground. Success quickly followed at junior level, culminating in unexpected victories in the 1,000 and 500 sprints at the 2021 U.S. trials, which secured his place at the Beijing Games.

His stellar trajectory continued unabated at the 2023 world championships, where Stolz made history as the first male speed skater to claim three individual gold medals at a single championships.

He added three more world titles in 2024, alongside the prestigious world allround title – a feat not achieved by an American since Shani Davis in 2006.

However, the demanding nature of speed skating, particularly for a world-class sprinter, has presented its own set of challenges. In the lead-up to the Olympic season, Stolz navigated a series of health issues, including bouts of pneumonia and strep throat, compounded by a gruesome bike crash in June during training.

"When I got strep throat and pneumonia, I kind of really messed up the end of that season," Stolz explained.

"Of course, it's not something that you can't like recover from physically. So I just took a little rest at the end the year. Started building it back up again and I was able to get stronger than I was before."

Describing the severity of his cycling accident, he added: "The little bike crash that I had, I guess it wasn't little, cut my shin and split it right open, bones out and everything ... I was doing a sprint and the chain came off."

Despite these significant setbacks, Stolz made an emphatic return to action. At the U.S. long track championships in Utah in October, he stormed to titles in the 1,000, 1,500, and mass start events, also securing a second-place finish in the 500 metres.

"The national titles, I was just training right through, so it's not like I really prepared that much for them. But it was nice to be able to win them," he remarked, downplaying the effort.

With the United States having finished third in the medals table at Beijing with nine golds and 25 medals overall, there is a keen desire to make a strong impression in Italy. Stolz expressed optimism for his country's prospects.

"I think we're going to have a really good chance at winning a lot of medals," he stated. "We have some good people out there, and it's going to be really good, especially being that we're back here in 2034 in Salt Lake City and I'll hopefully be competing at those Games."

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