Jordan Stolz, an American long-track speed skater, won a gold medal during his first race of the Olympics in the 1000 meters with an Olympic record time of 1:06.28 on February 11, 2026.
He used to skate at all hours with his elder sister, Hannah Stolz, while growing up.
Jordan Stolz has long been speedskating.
The 21-year-old from Wisconsin is a household name in the Netherlands, Norway, and Germany, where crowds pack arenas to watch him race. However, he remained almost completely unknown across America.
He debuted on the international scene by skating in the first of his four Olympic competitions and outraced a stacked field in the men’s 1,000 meters to capture his first Olympic gold medal.
His winning time of 1:06.28 broke a 24-year-old Olympic record set at altitude before he was even born.
The gold medal is a validation for Stolz and an introduction for America.
I was hoping to be pretty even with him at the 600 and then get him in the last lap, but he was ahead. So I was a little worried that he could possibly win. I threw two arms down and attacked as hard as I could. I was able to reel him in on that last corner.
Jordan Stolz
Jordan Stolz’s Sister Masters Her Own Championship Craft
Jordan Stolz shocked the speed skating world by winning three gold medals at the 2023 World Junior Speed Skating Championships.
He was inseparable on the ice alongside his elder sister, Hannah Stolz, while growing up in West Bend, Wisconsin.
When five-year-old Jordan begged to try speed skating after watching Apolo Anton Ohno in 2010, eight-year-old Hannah was right beside him.
Their father, Dirk, even installed lights at the backyard pond so both kids could skate after dark. He said that the family would do short track until both Jordan and Hannah “got too fast.”
I was always afraid they could drown. Dirk kept saying the ice was thick enough, but I was not willing to risk it. So they kept the life jackets on until he drilled a hole, and we could see it was several feet thick. After that, I finally felt okay, and in the next couple of days, they were able to take them off.
Jane Stolz
Hannah raced competitively through her teenage years.
While Jordan continued toward world records, Hannah found her calling in the family business.
She became a taxidermist specializing in avian species. She now runs Windy Hills Waterfowl in southeastern Wisconsin, home to 85 bird species from around the world. Her workshop is filled with ducks, pheasants, and exotic birds preserved with painstaking precision.
She won the National Taxidermy Championships in July 2023. The following August, she placed third in the non-game bird division at the World Taxidermy Championships.
The sister who once raced beside Jordan now competes on a different kind of global stage, and she’s winning there too.
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