Jordan Stolz, the 21-year-old speedskater from Kewaskum, Wisconsin, just turned a hometown success story into a full-blown Olympic headline. He leaves the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics with two gold medals and a silver, the most medals earned by any American at the Games. Stolz set Olympic records in both the 1,000- and 500-meter races, added a silver in the 1,500, then finished just off the podium in fourth in the mass-start finale. In the span of one week in Milan, he went from rising domestic talent to Team USA’s breakout star, according to NBC Olympics.
Stolz's record runs
Stolz opened his Games by blowing past the men’s 1,000-meter Olympic record, clocking 1:06.28 in a statement win that reset the standard for the event, as reported by NBC Olympics. He followed that up with an Olympic-record 33.77 in the 500, a sprint that confirmed the first performance was no fluke and turned the long-track oval into his personal stage, according to NBC Olympics. Together, those races rewrote the books and delivered the defining moments of the speedskating program at Milano Cortina, cementing Stolz’s status on the world stage.
From Kewaskum to Milan
Stolz’s rise has all the beats of a classic Wisconsin sports tale: laps on a backyard pond as a kid, serious training at Milwaukee’s Pettit National Ice Center, and an Olympic debut at 17 in Beijing. By Milan, the kid from Kewaskum had become the centerpiece of Team USA’s long-track push. Milwaukee Magazine notes that Stolz left Italy with three medals, making him the most decorated American at these Games and highlighting just how fast he has climbed within long-track speedskating circles. That arc, from small-town pond to Olympic podium, helps explain why his run has resonated so strongly in Wisconsin and beyond.
Final races and reaction
After his two record-setting golds, Stolz extended his medal haul with silver in the 1,500. In the mass-start event that closed out his program, he came within a whisker of a fourth medal, finishing fourth to cap the week. AP coverage carried by the Washington Post reports Stolz as saying he was “pretty happy” with his overall Olympics despite the near-miss in the finale. The understated reaction matched his pattern all week, pairing dominant performances with a clear-eyed sense of what he still wants to sharpen.
What this means for Team USA
Stolz’s medal streak arrived as part of a broader American surge in Italy. The United States finished the Games with 12 golds and 33 total medals, its best gold-medal tally at a Winter Olympics, according to CBS News. Within that crowded medal table, Stolz stood alone as the only U.S. athlete in Milan to win two individual golds and three medals overall. His haul underscored how Team USA blended star power at the top with depth across multiple sports, with the Kewaskum skater serving as one of the week’s clearest difference-makers.
How he fits in Olympic history
Stolz’s numbers now place him in rare company among American speedskating legends. He and Eric Heiden are the only U.S. men ever to win both the 500- and 1,000-meter races at a single Olympics. He is also the first U.S. long-track skater to claim three medals at one Games since Chad Hedrick in 2006, as noted by the Los Angeles Times. Mentioning Heiden, Hedrick and now Stolz in the same breath puts his three-medal haul in context, showing just how uncommon a feat this is for an American long-track skater.
Stolz says he plans to regroup with his coaches and family, chase more world medals and likely point toward another Olympic cycle. For a skater who started out on a frozen pond outside Kewaskum, walking away from Milan with two Olympic records and three medals is the kind of leap that turns local pride into a national storyline.
