American Jordan Stolz capped one of the best speed skating seasons of all time by winning the sport’s most storied event in world record fashion.
Stolz, a 19-year-old from Wisconsin, became the youngest man to win the world allround championships since the second of fellow Wisconsinite Eric Heiden’s three consecutive titles in 1978.
Stolz distanced Dutchman Patrick Roest, a three-time world allround champion, by 1.021 points combining results from the 500m and 5000m on Saturday and the 1500m and 10,000m on Sunday in Inzell, Germany.
His point total — 144.740 — was the best in the history of the allround championships, which date officially to 1893.
Stolz ends his season having broken his first world record (1000m), skated a fastest time in history at sea level (1500m), swept the 500m, 1000m and 1500m at February’s world championships for a second consecutive year and now claiming the allround title.
“There is a bit less interest in this tournament (in the U.S.), but hopefully I can bring some back and bring back some of the tradition that the American skaters have like Eric Heiden, bring it back to the public,” Stolz told Dutch broadcaster NOS.
Allround worlds crown the best skater across sprinting (500m), middle distance (1500m) and long distances (5000m and 10,000m).
Stolz, who rarely skates anything longer than 1500m, recognized the event’s significance in choosing it rather than the world sprint championships, also in Inzell, that were Thursday and Friday.
Stolz would have been the overwhelming favorite at sprint worlds given he is the second-fastest man in history in the 500m and the world record holder in the 1000m, the two sprint distances.
Instead, Stolz wanted to test himself at allrounds, which favors distance skaters over sprinters. Stolz and Heiden are the only men since World War II to pair an Olympic or world 500m title with a world allround title.
Stolz measured himself against Roest, who ranks No. 1 all-time in the the Adelskalender, a skating ranking based on personal-best times in the 500m, 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m.
“I’ve been beaten by a phenomenon,” Roest said, according to the International Skating Union.
Stolz began the season not having an Adelskalender ranking because he had never skated a 10,000m.
After debuting at the 10,000m in January, he entered allround worlds fourth on the Adelskalender list behind Roest and two recently retired legends: American Shani Davis and Dutchman Sven Kramer.
Stolz finished allround worlds second on the Adelskalender list, missing overtaking Roest by less than a second in his second career 10,000m, a 13-minute race, on Sunday.
“Now I just have to win world sprints,” Stolz said, “and then I can be the third American (after Heiden and Davis) to win allrounds and sprints.”
