Jordan Stolz narrowly missed a third gold at the Milan-Cortina Olympics on Thursday, settling for silver in the men\u2019s 1,500 meters as China\u2019s Ning Zhongyan took top honors. The result ends Stolz\u2019s bid to join the rare company of Americans who have won three golds at a single Winter Games \u2014 a milestone last reached by Eric Heiden in 1980.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old American needed an Olympic-record performance to claim victory but crossed the line just behind Zhongyan, finishing in 1:42.75<\/strong>. Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands, the two-time defending Olympic champion at 1,500 meters, completed the podium in third.<\/p>\n The contest produced one of the fastest 1,500-meter fields in recent Olympic history. Early in the program, Joep Weenemars reset the Olympic standard in his pairing, only to see that mark bettered moments later.<\/p>\n Both Ning Zhongyan and Kjeld Nuis surpassed the new benchmark, and when Stolz skated in the final heat the pressure was at its peak. In total, four skaters eclipsed the previous Olympic record at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, underscoring how quickly the event\u2019s margins shrank.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n <\/tr>\n \n <\/thead>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n <\/tr>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n <\/tr>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n <\/tr>\n \n <\/tbody>\n \n<\/table>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n<\/ul>\n Stolz\u2019s rise has been dramatic. At the 2022 Beijing Games he finished outside the top 10 in both the 500 and 1,000 meters (13th and 14th, respectively). In Milan-Cortina he has transformed into a consistent medal threat across sprint and middle distances.<\/p>\n For the sport, Thursday\u2019s results point to greater parity: national boundaries are less predictive of podiums, and small time differences now decide medals. For Stolz and the U.S. program, the remaining mass-start race offers a final chance to add to an already breakout Olympics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":43394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"schema_org_data":"{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Jordan Stolz\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Ning Zhongyan\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Kjeld Nuis\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.themoviedb.org\/person\/3185297\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Joep Weenemars\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Eric Heiden\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.themoviedb.org\/person\/5312230\"]},{\"@type\":\"Place\",\"name\":\"Milano Speed Skating Stadium\",\"description\":\"venue\"},{\"@type\":\"Place\",\"name\":\"Beijing\",\"description\":\"city\"},{\"@type\":\"Place\",\"name\":\"China\",\"description\":\"country\"},{\"@type\":\"Place\",\"name\":\"United States\",\"description\":\"country\"},{\"@type\":\"Place\",\"name\":\"Netherlands\",\"description\":\"country\"}]}","_extracted_celebrities":null,"_extracted_movies":"","_extracted_places":null,"_extracted_videos":"","_last_enrichment_date":"2026-02-24 08:32:17","footnotes":""},"categories":[188],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"yoast_head":"\nHow the race unfolded<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/p>\nPlace<\/th>\n Athlete<\/th>\n Nation<\/th>\n Time<\/th>\n <\/p>\n 1<\/td>\n Ning Zhongyan<\/strong><\/td>\n China<\/td>\n \u2014<\/td>\n <\/p>\n 2<\/td>\n Jordan Stolz<\/strong><\/td>\n United States<\/td>\n 1:42.75<\/td>\n <\/p>\n 3<\/td>\n Kjeld Nuis<\/strong><\/td>\n Netherlands<\/td>\n \u2014<\/td>\n <\/p>\n