US speed skating sensation Stolz ready to shine at Milano Cortina Games

Jordan Stolz was already a prodigiously talented speed skater when he made his Olympic debut as a teenager three years ago so it is no surprise that the American is heading to next year's Milano Cortina Games brimming with confidence.

Since finishing 13th in the 500 metres and 14th in the 1,000 at the age of 17 at his first Winter Olympics, Stolz has earned a reputation as one of the world's fastest sprinters.

Six world championship golds and a couple of world records, including one in the 1,000, have given him good reason for expecting to bring home at least a medal from the Milano Speed Skating Stadium next February.

"Going into this year, I feel like, I'm way better than I was going into 2022," the now 21-year-old told Reuters.

"I have way more experience too with the World Cups and nutrition and planning and jet lag. So I don't really see too many obstacles.

"I don't really let too many things get into my head now. If I have a really perfect race, which I think I'll be able to, it should be a good result."

Stolz took up speed skating after watching Apolo Ohno, his country's most decorated winter Olympian, at the 2010 Vancouver Games and received a big leg-up when his father installed a floodlit track on the pond at their home in Kewaskum, Wisconsin.

Success followed at junior level and his unexpected wins in the 1,000 and 500 sprints in track-record times at the 2021 U.S. trials earned him a ticket to the Beijing Games.

His stellar trajectory continued at the 2023 world championships, where Stolz became the first male speed skater to win three individual gold medals at a single championships.

He won three more world titles in 2024 and took out the prestigious world allround title, the first American to do so since Shani Davis