Jordan Stolz of the USA aims to secure his second Olympic gold in the men’s 500m speed skating event at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, scheduled for Saturday, February 14. Key competitors include Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands, Damian Zurek of Poland, and Kim Jun-Ho of South Korea, all of whom have challenged Stolz’s dominance during the current World Cup season.
Source: ISU Skating, International Skating Union
Jordan Stolz enters the men’s 500m race with a strong record, having won five of nine World Cup races this season. However, he was defeated in two races by Poland’s Damian Zurek over the final World Cup weekend. Zurek, who recently won the last 500m World Cup race in Inzell, expressed a straightforward approach to preparation involving rest and nutrition.
Jenning de Boo, the silver medalist from the Netherlands, also remains a serious contender and finished runner-up to Stolz in the 500m World Cup rankings. De Boo recorded a season-best time of 33.63 seconds in Salt Lake City, surpassing Stolz’s personal best by 0.06 seconds. In a recent head-to-head 1000m race, De Boo had an early lead over Stolz but acknowledges that Stolz remains unfazed by competition.
Stolz himself reflected calmly on his recent win in the men’s 1000m event, his first Olympic gold of the Games. He noted that while achieving additional gold medals would be rewarding, his initial victory had already eased the pressure for upcoming events. He is mentally prepared and focused on the rapid nature of the 500m race, which will take place in brief but intense bursts.
The race draw for the men’s 500m places Stolz and De Boo in the second-to-last pairing, with Stolz starting from the inner lane and De Boo preferring the outside lane. Other noteworthy matchups include Kim Jun-Ho facing Olympic champion Gao Tingyu and Damian Zurek against Sebas Diniz.
In the women’s events, the Team Pursuit competition begins on the same day with quarterfinals at 16:00. The top four teams will advance to the semifinals. Olympic champions Canada and world champions the Netherlands are the leading contenders in this discipline, with close competition expected from Japan and the USA. The Dutch team, composed of Joy Beune, Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong, and Marijke Groenewoud, won a key World Cup race this season and secured the World Championship title earlier in the year.
The women’s Team Pursuit quarterfinal draw features the Netherlands against Kazakhstan, China versus Japan, Germany against the USA, and Canada facing Belgium. The event will be contested at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, which currently does not have an established track record for the Team Pursuit discipline.
