HEERENVEEN, Netherlands, Dec. 8 — American speed skater Jordan Stolz dominated the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Heerenveen with three gold medals and three track records.
Stolz, 21, stormed to victory in the men’s 500m in 33.90 seconds on Sunday, adding to the 1,000m and 1,500m golds he had already collected.
Taking three golds in three days, the American star felt his 500m race on the final day was not as strong as his 1,000m performance on Saturday.
“I was a little bit tired,” he said after the 500m competition. “It can be a little bit faster. On the other hand, I think this is my fastest time at sea level, so I’m happy about it.”
Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands finished 0.20 seconds behind Stolz in the men’s 500m but held off Japan’s Wataru Morishige by the same margin to secure silver.
Reigning Olympic champion Gao Tingyu placed 13th in 34.71, and his teammates Xue Zhiwen and Lian Ziwen were 12th and 15th. In the men’s 1,500m, Stolz set a track record of 1:42.55.
Dutch skater Kjeld Nuis charged in the final laps to take silver in 1:43.31, overtaking China’s Ning Zhongyan, who earned bronze in 1:43.87. Ning’s 1,500m bronze was his second podium of the season after taking silver in Salt Lake City last month.
He placed sixth in the men’s 1,500m in Calgary and now ranks fourth overall in the season’s 1,500m standings.
Ning also finished fifth in the 1,000m on Saturday in 1:07.70. On the women’s side, Dutch skater Femke Kok thrilled the home crowd with a 37.00-second win in the 500m, her seventh straight World Cup victory in the event.
Her teammates Jutta Leerdam and Marrit Fledderus completed a Dutch sweep, while China’s Tian Ruining finished 13th.
In the women’s mass start, the Netherlands’ Marijke Groenewoud claimed gold in 8:07.66, with China’s Hou Jundan placing fifth in 8:08.68.
The Heerenveen meet was the third of five World Cup stops this season.
The first four legs serve as qualifiers for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, with the circuit continuing from Dec. 12 to 14 in Hamar, Norway. (Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
