March 5, 2026 – Heerenveen, NL – It’s a big weekend of speedskating at the Thialf Stadium in Heerenveen, NL, and Jordan Stolz will put his Superman status to the test.
The 21-year-old from Washington County, Wi, will be the only speedskater in a select field of more than 50 to try and win both the World Sprint Championship and the World Allround, which features greater distance races of 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters.
Click HERE to read about the history and scoring of the World Championships
No other skater is attempting this and the effort by Stolz has been deemed “insane.”
Why? There’s a little history at play. In the past, the Sprint Championship and the Allround were held on seperate weekends. Skaters had a chance to rest. Now, the short and long races are piled into one 4-day competition.
Stolz, will take part in 8 races between Thursday and Sunday, March 8, 2026.
According to coach Bob Corby, “He’s just such a phenomenal skater. He can do it. He’s the only competitor at this at this event that is going to skate both of them. No one else does that.”
Stolz is coming in with a pretty heavy resume, especially for the Sprint Championships, which feature two 500 meter races on Thursday and Friday, and two 1000m races in the same timeframe.
Click HERE to read about today’s pairings. Racing starts at noon in the Midwest.
Stolz won gold at the Olympics in both the 500m and 1000m
He is currently the 1000m World Record holder and the last time he skated at the Thialf, he set three new track records in the 500m, 1000m, and 1500m.
Two years ago in Inzell 2024, Stolz became only the third skater to have won the Sprints and the World Allround Championships. The other two skaters who did it, Eric Heiden and Shani Davis.
On a side note:
-If this event can’t be exciting as it is, on the final day, Sunday the Dutch add a touch of elegance and the winners, male and female, of the Spring Championships and the World Allrounds get pulled in a sled around the ice by Frisian horses (Friesian horses). It’s a tradition that caps the end of the season.
-According to media in attendance, the horses are “massive and black” and history said they’re referred to as “black gold” because of their “striking appearance.”
-In 2024 Japanese speedskater and Olympic medalist Takagi Miho tried to attempt what Jordan Stolz is doing at the World Championships. She reportedly won the Sprint Championships but after one day of the longer distances with the Allrounds, she dropped out.
-After this weekend, Stolz will compete in the Silver Ball. It is a touted as the “World’s fastest ice skating show” and it’s held in the Elfstedenhal in Leeuwarden. Kids like it because they get autographs and skaters like it because races are about 100m.