March 7, 2026 – Heerenveen, NL – After racing the Sprint Championships earlier in the week, Jordan Stolz continues an ambitious push at the ISU World Allround Speed Skating Championships, skating his sixth race in three days on Saturday in Heerenveen.
Most of the field arrived fresh for the Allround competition. Stolz did not. The 21-year-old is attempting the rare double of competing in both the Sprint and Allround championships in the same weekend.
Saturday opened well for Stolz. He captured gold in the 500 meters with a 34.22, finishing 1.79 seconds ahead of Norway’s Peder Kongshaug.
The short distance gave Stolz valuable points before stepping into the longer grind of the 5,000 meters.
“I was happy with the 500,” he said.
In the 5,000 meters, Stolz posted a solid 6:19.66. Skating early in the field, in the fourth pairing vs. Gabriel Odor of Austria, Stolz time briefly held the first-place position before the experienced distance skaters began knocking him down the rankings.
“It was alright,” said Stolz. “I would have liked to have been a little faster, maybe by four seconds, but it’s alright for now. We’ll see what those guys can do.”
The heavy schedule has begun to show. Stolz admitted his legs felt rough early in the day.
“My legs hurt when I got out of bed,” he said. “But as the day went on things got better, and when I got to the line I finally felt good enough to put out a 500.”
Sleep has become a key part of his strategy. Stolz aimed for nine hours and estimated he got about eight and a half before Saturday’s races.
“I just went to bed and wanted to see how I felt in the morning,” he said. “I felt alright.”
He also believes the schedule may have trimmed a little weight.
“I feel like I did,” he said. “Maybe just not eating as much and not training as much.”
The Allround event comes just days after Stolz finished second in the Sprint Championships behind Dutch rival Jenning De Boo.
“I wanted to win the sprints,” Stolz said. “I tried to prep as well as I could for both of them, but Jenning was just really good this weekend.”
Despite the disappointment, Stolz said the motivation to continue racing never faded.
“I never felt the motivation went away,” he said.
Sunday brings the final and longest challenge: the 10,000 meters.
Stolz knows the math could get tight depending on how the distance specialists perform in the standings.
“If those guys skate really good it will be tough for me to fight back in the 10K,” he said. “But if they don’t have as good of races as they can do, I think I’ll be in a good spot.”
His strategy is simple, even if the race itself is anything but.
“Just try to skate even laps,” Stolz said. “If I start dying off, fight for it as much as I can. That’s all I can do.”
At the close of Saturday competition, Stolz sits atop the points standings.
On a side note:
-The start list for the 1500m has Stolz skating last, in the 12th pairing vs. Sander Eitrem of Norway. The 24-year-old Eitrem finished first in the 5000m with a time of 6:01.61. His personal best in the 1500m was skated December 9, 2022 at 1:43.230.
Stolz took the silver at the Olympics in the 1500m. His PR is 1:40.480.
Stolz personal best in the 10,000m is 13:04.760.
Eitrem’s PR in the 10,000m is 12:38.040.
-Racing starts at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 8, 2026. Noting the time change, neighbors in the Midwest should see a start time around 7 a.m.
