February 13, 2026 – Milan, Italy – The next big race for Town of Wayne Olympic gold medalist Jordan Stolz is Saturday, February 14, 2026, as he competes in the 500 meter event. Fellow Olympic gold medalist Dan Jansen who won gold in the 1000m in 1994 at the Lillehammer Olympics will be in attendance. Jansen was also first to skate under 36 seconds in the 500m during the 1994 World Sprint Championships in Calgary, has been keeping a close eye on Stolz and said the 500m on Saturday will be the 21-year-olds biggest challenge. 
“It seems both Damian Zürek (Poland) and Jenning De Boo (Netherlands) may have a little more early speed than Jordan,” said Jansen. “So he won’t be able to rely on his strong finish, he needs a great opening 100 meters. I still think he will win.”
At the ISU World Cup in Inzell, Germany, held two weeks prior to the 2026 Winter Olympics, Zurek beat Stolz twice in the 500m. The 26-year-old set a new track record in the first outing with a 34.09 and followed up two days later breaking his own track record with a 34.06.
Stolz was just a breath behind and secure a silver finish in both races, with a 34.26 on Friday and a 34.10 on Sunday.
Questioned whether the back-to-back second-place finishes for Stolz was concerning, Jansen said, “I don’t think it will have any negative affect on Jordan at all… in fact, maybe the opposite. He does not like to get beat and I think he has another gear coming in the 500 so that doesn’t happen.”
Jansen also said people should keep an eye on the first inner turn in the race. “That has an advantage in the 500m, so you don’t have to finish on the right last inner turn. Hopefully Jordan draws the first inner lane.”
As of Thursday evening, the pairings and lane designations had not yet been released.
Reflecting on the 1000m gold-medal performance, Jansen said it was good Stolz got that win under his belt. “The 500m has no room for error and if he did not win the 1000m, I think there would be more pressure on him in the 500 coming up. Now he has a gold already and can just skate freely.”
Sharing some insight on the 1000m, Jansen said what people don’t see is how strong Stolz is, especially on the turn.
Jansen said the other characteristic that weighs in Stolz favor is his mental toughness. “He is very mentally strong. He has never shown a whole lot of emotion either way and I think that is a positive; he never gets too up or too down.”
On a side note: Below are some final lap results, just to show how incredibly fast the times are and how a split second can make all the difference.
The fastest out of the gate in Inzell was Yevgenly Koshkin, 23, of Kazakhstan with a 9.39 on Friday and Jun-Ho Kim, 30, of Korea with a 9.51 on Sunday. Both ended up with a fourth-place finish in their respective races.
Just to put it into perspective how the races can come down to a 100th of a second.
– The tickets for the Olympics are ‘live tickets’ which means the QR code on your phone is constantly changing right up until the time you get scanned in. It’s a security measure that helps eliminate fraud. It is also impossible to screen shot your ticket and enter.
