February 21, 2026 – Milan, Italy – The Mass Start will wrap up the #2026WinterOlympics for speedskating. There will be four semi-finals and then the men’s final and women’s final. For Jordan Stolz, he will skate in Semifinal 1 starting at 3 p.m. in Milan. Stolz will be one of 14 skaters on the ice completing 15 laps. The tops 8 skaters advance to the final. Coach Bob Corby has a very entertaining review of Mass Start strategy and one prediction for the race at the Olympics.
The Mass Start is coined pack-style racing, and a longer distance totaling 15 laps.
During this past ISU World Cup season Stolz is listed 5th in the standings for Mass Start. It’s likely two Americans will skate the Mass Start at the Olympics. The early second favorite for the men is Ethan Cepuran who is 16th in the ISU World Cup standings.
The results above show Stolz’s finishes so far this season. The initial race in Utah saw him finish 15th, and within a week you can see he was figuring it out and jumped to a bronze medal and a No. 3 finish. Stolz was on track to possibly podium again in Heerenveen, when a crash took him out midway through the race.
The following week in Hamar, coach Bob Corby said Stolz mimicked the stride of a marathon racer and in the end “stole the lunch money” of the skaters in front of them and won by a sizable margin.
According to ISU speedskating, Bart Swings of Belgium will defend his 2022 Olympic title in the Mass Start.
For the women, the early favorite is Italian skater Francesca Lollobrigida who has secured gold in the 3000m and 5000m.
nbcsports.com
