Gold things didn’t come in threes for Jordan Stolz.
Not yet at least.
The American speedskating sensation added a silver medal Thursday morning (to go with his two golds) when he was upset as the heavy favorite in the 1,500 meters. China’s Ning Zhongyan captured the gold.
Stolz, 21, won his first two golds in style as he set Olympic records with his times in the men’s 500 meters and 1,000 meters.
But the challenge issued Thursday by the rest of the 1,500-meter field was too steep.
It was clearly early that it was going to take an impressive feat to win because Joep Wennemars of the Netherlands — in the 11th of 15 pairs of skaters — set a new Olympic record with 1:43.05. The record didn’t last long.
Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands was the two-time defending Olympic champion. But he didn’t even win the 12th pairing because Zhongyan (1:41.98) beat Nuis head-to-head and passed Wennemars.
Stolz’s proven 1500-meter strategy is to make up ground on the final lap. He made up about one second on the last lap but still finished 0.77 seconds off the gold-medal pace.
The Wisconsin native will have a chance to add a third gold to his collection when he competes in the Men’s Mass Start Speed Skating event on Sunday.
2026 WINTER OLYMPICS
Stolz is trying to become the first U.S. athlete in any sport to win more than two golds at the same Winter Olympics since legendary speed skater Eric Heiden won five gold medals in 1980 at Lake Placid.
“I’m proud to be mentioned in the same sentence as Jordan Stolz,” Heiden, who has been attending races in Milan, told the Associated Press. “That kid’s a stud.”
Soltz was a two-time world champion and the two-time reigning World Cup champion in the 1,500 meters. His only loss in the previous nine 1,500-meter races on the World Cup level was a fifth-place finish on Feb. 28, 2025, when he was battling pneumonia and strep throat, according to NBC.
But the Olympic track was new to him. At least at this length.
Unlike the other two sprints, Stolz did not compete in the 1,500 as a 17-year-old during the 2022 Winter Olympics.
And Zhongyan skated the race of his life.
