Speed skating-Unstoppable Stolz blazes to 500m crown for his second Milano Cortina gold

MILAN, Feb 14 : American speed skating phenomenon Jordan Stolz once again stole the spotlight on Saturday, rocketing to the men's 500 metres title at the Winter Olympics and securing his second gold medal of these Games.

Stolz had already met the towering expectations by winning the men's 1,000m on Wednesday, the United States' first speed skating gold of Milano Cortina.

He topped a 500m podium rounded out by Dutchman Jenning de Boo with silver and Canada's Laurent Dubreuil with bronze.

The 21-year-old tore through the distance in an Olympic-record 33.77 seconds, finishing 0.11 ahead of De Boo.

Drawn in the 13th of 15 pairs and starting from the inner lane, Stolz once again lined up against his Dutch rival - the same head-to-head matchup from the 1,000m, where the American struck gold and De Boo took silver.

Stolz powered off the line before unleashing the explosive top-end speed that has become his trademark.

De Boo pushed hard to keep him within reach, clipping the barrier after crossing the line as Stolz saluted a raucous, Dutch-dominated crowd. Among those rocking the stands were Stolz's compatriot and the most decorated gymnast in history, Simone Biles.

Earlier, Dubreuil - skating in the 10th pair - briefly broke the Olympic record with a 34.26, before Stolz obliterated it minutes later.

Poland's Damian Zurek and De Boo were considered the strongest challengers to Stolz over the distance but neither could halt the American's surge as he once again rose above the field at his second Olympics.

Stolz has evolved into a world-beating sprinter in recent seasons, collecting seven world championship titles and holding the 1,000m world record.

His latest triumph delivered the United States their fifth gold medal of these Games,