HAMAR, Norway — Jordan Stolz took bronze in the 1000m at the World Single Distances Speed Skating Championships behind one familiar Dutch rival and one new one.
Stolz, a 20-year-old from Wisconsin, earned his eighth medal in eight career individual World Championships races, one day after taking silver in the 500m behind Dutchman Jenning de Boo.
On Saturday, it was Dutchman Joep Wennemars who won the 1000m in his World Single Distance Championships debut — 16 hundredths ahead of de Boo and 21 hundredths ahead of Stolz. Another American, Cooper McLeod, was fourth, one day after taking 500m bronze.
Stolz swept the 500m, 1000m and 1500m at worlds in 2023, becoming the first man to win three individual events at a World Single Distances Championships (which debuted in 1996). He repeated the triple gold in 2024.
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Now he’s being challenged by de Boo, a 21-year-old who has been strong all season, and Wennemars, a world junior champion in 2022 who has yet to win on the World Cup but is pedigreed.
Wennemars’ dad, Erben, won world 1000m titles in 2003 and 2004, works for the Dutch national broadcaster and had his own rivalry with American legend Shani Davis, who formerly coached Stolz.
Stolz contracted pneumonia and strep throat in early February, then withdrew from his last World Cup races before world championships from March 1-2 due to tiredness from overtraining in returning from the illnesses. His coach, Bob Corby, deemed Stolz’s readiness for world champs at 98% on Tuesday.
Stolz said after Friday’s 500m silver that the setbacks last month “probably” played a role in his performance. On Saturday, he felt he lacked some power in his legs.
“The preparation, we did the best we could, being the circumstances, but some things you just can’t change, and there’s limited time to be able to fix things,” he said.
He also alluded to the totality of the November-to-March World Cup campaign. Stolz had his busiest season yet on the circuit with 21 races, including winning his first 14 in a row.
“It’s hard to be able to skate all of them (World Cups) in one year and have still good results late into March,” he said. “I’m not so far out of shape that I can’t build it back in the summer and be back to where I was.”
Also Saturday, Olympic gold medalist Miho Takagi of Japan repeated as world champion in the women’s 1000m, prevailing by 23 hundredths over 500m world champion Femke Kok of the Netherlands. Kok’s countrywoman Jutta Leerdam took bronze.
Italy, which had won two individual golds in World Single Distances Championships history coming into the day, doubled that number on Saturday.
Francesca Lollobrigida earned her first world medal and the first world title for an Italian woman. She took the 5000m by 18 hundredths over Norway’s Ragne Wiklund.
Lollobrigida, a 2022 Olympic silver and bronze medalist, capped her second season back after having son Tommaso in May 2023.
“I just wanted to come back (from childbirth) and also be an example that it can be possible,” she said.
Then Andrea Giovannini won the mass start to become the second Italian man to win an individual world title. Davide Ghiotto could add a third gold for Italy this week in Sunday’s 10,000m. He’s the world record holder and two-time reigning world champion.
Italy, the 2026 Olympic host, has won two Olympic speed skating gold medals all-time — both at the last Games it hosted in 2006.
Worlds end Sunday with the 1500m races (including Stolz) and the women’s mass start along with the men’s 10,000m, starting at 7 a.m. ET, live on Peacock. CNBC airs highlights at 12 p.m.
