American Jordan Stolz is rolling into the world speed skating championships. Stolz, the 18-year-old who honed his skating on the pond behind the family house north of Milwaukee, won a 1500m at the World Cup Finals on Friday, beating two-time reigning Olympic champion Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands.
Stolz clocked 1 minute, 45.44 seconds, a track record in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland, to distance Nuis by 72 hundredths of a second.
The World Cup stop, which airs live on Peacock, has more races Saturday and Sunday. Then come the world championships in the Netherlands in two weeks, where Stolz is a medal contender in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m.
Last week, Stolz swept the 500m, 1000m and 1500m at the world junior championships, plus earned bronze medals in the other two individual events (5000m and mass start).