On Friday, 18-year-old American Jordan Stolz became the youngest skater in history to win an individual event at the World Long Track Speed Skating Championships.
This feat allowed him to write his name in the history book of speed skating. However, as the contested Worlds in the Netherlands progressed, one thing became clear: his name will soon be plastered all over said history book.
After his triumph in the 500m event at the expense of Quebecer Laurent Dubreuil, Stolz did it again by winning the 1,000m on Saturday and naturally continued with a victory in the 1,500m on Sunday.
A tour de force, you say?
He became the first male skater to win three individual races at the same Worlds. Remember, at 18.
Throughout the Worlds, the native of Wisconsin attacked the turns with surreal speed – he maintained a rhythm beyond 60 km/h – all with disarming ease.
PHOTO PETER DEJONG, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jordan Stolz
Friday, after Stolz’s first victory, Dubreuil was already ready to cede his title of favorite and best skater in the world in the 500m to his young rival. He praised it all weekend.
“The weather is out of the future. He doesn’t even need to improve to dominate the circuit for 10 years. But if he improves, it’s over, it’s the end of the hunt for gold medals. It’s that simple. It’s absolutely amazing,” the Lévis skater said after Saturday’s race.
Curb the senior circuit, but also the junior
Oh yes. Stolz also took part in the World Juniors this year, as he is still eligible.
The result, you ask? Gold medal in the 500m, 1000m, 1500m and team sprint. He also won the bronze medal in the 5000m and the mass start.
He is only the second male skater in history to win junior and senior world titles in the same season, joining the legendary Eric Heiden (1977 and 1978).
Dubreuil was not shy about drawing parallels between Stolz and the man who won five gold medals at the Lake Placid Olympics in 1980.
“It’s totally deserved as a comparison,” he said. He is of that caliber as an athlete. What he does is amazing. »
However, he said he does not believe the American prodigy will be able to win the 5,000m and 10,000m among seniors, since we are now in “an era where athletes specialize in sprint distances or long distances”.
PHOTO PETER DEJONG, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jordan Stolz of the United States, left, celebrates with second-placed Canadian Laurent Dubreuil after winning the men’s 500m event at the World Championships.
He’s doing all of this at an age where most skaters would be happy to be 27.e from Group B. It’s unimaginable how good he is. I don’t know how motivating it is because, honestly, if he just gets a little better, he’s going to reach levels of performance that we can’t even match. Person.
Laurent Dubreuil
It’s not just Dubreuil who is ecstatic in front of the American. His compatriot Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu agreed.
“What Jordan was able to do this weekend was phenomenal. We’ll probably never see that again. We will have to go back to the school benches this summer to try to understand what he is doing to be so good, ”he laughed at Sportcom after Sunday’s event.
So, if he can actually improve, the Worlds in the Netherlands will not only have been the baptism of fire for Stolz, but already the moment of consecration. Dubreuil has already told the American that when he turns 60, he will tell “his grandchildren that he skated against him”.
All that remains is to rewrite it, this famous history book.