I get goosebumps.
Jordan Stoltz is the best speed skater on the planet.
After four races this weekend in Inzell, Germany, the 19-year-old from Kewaskam reached the top of the podium at the World All-Around Championship on Sunday. And he did it in the most Jordan Stoltz way possible. He set a record, of course.
After four races ranging from the Super Sprint to the Endurance Slog, Stolz earned a total of 144.740 points, setting the all-time world all-round points record. The International Speed Skating Union (ISU) established his World Allround in 1893. This was Stolz's first attempt at such a multi-distance, multi-race weekend and capped off his 2023-2024 World Championship race. He broke records and is now recognized as the world's best skater.
Surrounded by photo-seeking fans in Germany and bombarded with questions from the media, Stolz spoke for several minutes by phone with the Journal Sentinel on Sunday afternoon.
“I think the whole season was memorable,” Stolz said. “500 points was really good. and I'm really surprised that I was able to maintain my stamina. Usually it's give and take. ”
Throughout the weekend, and especially throughout Sunday, Stolz's top competitor was none other than three-time World All-Round Champion (2018-2020) and last year's runner-up Patrick Roest (Netherlands).
The 28-year-old Loest skated strongly, but finished second overall with a score of 145.762. But watching Stolz take a victory lap around Max Eicher Arena with the Stars and Stripes over his shoulders seemed like more than just a changing of the guard. It appeared to be the dawn of a new era as the 6-foot-1 Stolz worked methodically to reset the bar for on-ice goals and speed.
Mr. Stolz made it look so easy all weekend, but how did that happen?
“We get a lot of questions like, 'But you're a sprinter,'” Stolz's coach, Bob Corby, said by phone from Germany. “It's like saying, 'Sprinters sprint as fast as they can, but they shouldn't be able to do so well in these long-distance races.'”
fair enough. He set a world record in the 1,000 meters in less than two months and threatened to break the 500 at a World Cup event. In other words, he's a sprinter, a speed freak who peaked at the end of this season, a talent Wisconsin hasn't seen in two generations.
So how did he change his stance and racing blades and skate expertly at all distances: sprints, middle distances, and endurance at these championships, which included races of 500, 5,000, 1,500, and 10,000 meters? Is it?
I'll summarize it below.
Jordan Stoltz sets record in 1500 meters
Stolz simply won the 1,500 race on Sunday morning by building on his track record. Stolz was paired with Roast and finished in 1:41.78. Roast took second place with a time of 1 minute 43.37 seconds.
Stolz had strong results in both races on Saturday (including another performance in the 500 meters) and held a commanding overall lead at the time. When the three races (500, 5,000, and 1,500) were finished and the meanest race remained, Stolz sat in the arena spinning on a stationary bike – much to the amusement of the Peacock TV announcer – holding an apple. I ate and watched the rest of the race as the skating action unfolded.
“I was trying to get the rack (lactic acid) out of my legs, move my body and get some carbs in,” Stolz said with a laugh.
Stolz finished 6th fastest in the 10,000 meter dash
Then he settled on that pain, which is 10,000. This is a huge challenge, a grueling test of will over 25 laps. It's a distance Stolz has only practiced about 10 times in his life. But he had run a very good time of 13 minutes 17 seconds in Salt Lake City in January, and he thought he could do even better in Germany.
And he crossed the finish in 13 minutes, 4.76 seconds, sixth fastest overall Sunday against elite distance skaters.It also means he did his best. a lot. 12 seconds.
“I was in a lot of pain. It looked easy, but I just tried to keep my technique,” Stolz said.
It's hard to appreciate how Stolz raced this beast of 10,000 other than to marvel at how he raced. But his consistency was outstanding. Stolz's pair, Roast, again led from the start and throughout, making several pushes and occasionally speeding up in short bursts. But those weren't enough for him to soar the way he needed to catch up Stolz in the overall standings.
Stolz, on the other hand, was averaging 30-31 seconds almost every lap. His consistency looked elite. Roast seemed completely exhausted by the end – grabbing his quadriceps and losing form a bit – leaving everything he had on the ice. Stolz seemed unaffected. It was his race and his pace.
“I was a little worried when he went 200 meters in front of me,” Stolz said. “But I kept staying in the low 31s, so I knew he wouldn't be able to catch up to me (in the overall standings). I think I ran my own race, but it was against him. It was also to make sure I had enough time.”
In the end, Roast beat Stolz in the 10,000 race, but not by a large enough margin to catch him in the standings. Sprinter Stolz was already far ahead.
Coach Bob Kobe knew of Jordan Stoltz's talent.
To be fair, Stolz can no longer be labeled as “just” a sprinter. He is a dominant skater and a big part of that is due to his coaches. All of this was done under the careful guidance of Kobe, the legendary coach from Wisconsin who has worked with Stoltz for several years.
Kobe has been focusing on two things lately: Stolz training and numbers. Because trying to calculate the time Stolz would need to win by Samalog's score at the World All-Around is a guessing math game where times are equal points.
When Kobe manually timed Stolz's 10,000-meter time at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee last fall, he was impressed with Stolz's 13 minutes, 45 seconds. He definitely needed to go down, but he was OK, so there was a lot to work on there. Kobe felt that unless endurance training ruined Stolz's sprint and medal contention at the World Cup and Single Distance World Championships, they would give it a shot.
Then Stolz set a great time in January, and Kobe knew he had a championship favorite.
“He skated the official 10,000 at our trials in Salt Lake City. He skated in 13 minutes, 17 seconds, and only one American distance skater has ever done it better,” Kobe said. said.
But Stolz and Kobe arrived in Germany with some challenges. Stolz had just won the three-time world championship in the 500 meters, 1,000 meters and 1,500 meters at the single-distance championships in February. I didn't have a chance to practice 10,000 because I had to recover from that and prepare for the World All-Around.Stolz and Kobe had to settle for specific training instead, You can also do one 20-lap endurance practice session during a mentally draining time of the season. They have been traveling for months.
“What I mainly do is design the training and design the intensity of the training so that he can reach the highest peak possible,” Kobe said. “We don't have the benefit of a lot of machines, and we don't even think they work in the first place. We just follow the mood of the person. The experience of choosing hard and easy workouts and combining them .”
Stolz added: “We had a plan and we worked all summer long, so I think (Bob Corby) contributed a lot to that. We maintained our stamina, our sprints were good and our program was perfect. ” he added.
It was a risk and a gamble, but it paid off for both parties.
But for the record, Kobe disputes Stolz's slashing gesture at the end of his 1,500th goal.
“I made a fist to my chest and pulled it outwards like, 'Yeah!'” Kobe said. “I would never do that because I think it's really vulgar to make a throat-slitting gesture. … I'm raising my hand, but I don't want it to be misunderstood.”
Stolz finished the skating season at the top. Surrounded by his parents, Kobe, and US speed skating long track team coach Ryan Shimabukuro, Stoltz is now the face of the sport. The 19-year-old, who started skating at the age of 5 when his father cleared the snow from their pond, laces up his shoes and skates with his mother and younger sister at the Pettit National Ice Center. He entered military service alone as a child soldier. A high school student without a driver's license went to the Beijing Olympics two years ago, where he was locked out and locked down.
he is the best in the world
