American Jordan Stolz is breaking records before the speed skating season begins in earnest.
Stolz, who in March became the youngest skater to win a world title and the first man to win three individual golds at a single worlds, has over the past week skated the two fastest 1500m times at sea level in history.
At the Pettit Center in Milwaukee, Stolz clocked 1 minute, 42.80 seconds last Saturday. Then on Friday, the Wisconsinite skated 1:42.319, according to U.S. Speedskating.
The previous best time at a sea-level oval was 1:43.00, set by two-time Olympic 1500m gold medalist Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands in 2020, according to Evert Stenlund.
Most of the fastest times in history are set in the thinner air of the high-altitude venues of Salt Lake City and Calgary, including Nuis’ world record of 1:40.17 from 2019.
Stolz, 19, will get a chance to chase that record at a World Cup stop at the Utah Olympic Oval from Jan. 26-28.
Since sweeping the 500m, 1000m and 1500m world titles in March, Stolz joined a Dutch club team, though Dutch media reported that he would still primarily train in Wisconsin under American coach Bob Corby.
“He’s pretty much unbelievable,” Corby said this week, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “He does stuff almost two or three times a week that I just shake my head and go, what in the world?”