American speed skater Jordan Stolz is targeting the unprecedented achievement of winning both the Sprint and Allround titles at the upcoming ISU Speed Skating Allround & Sprint World Championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands.
According to ISU Skating News, the championships will showcase the most versatile athletes competing across multiple distances over four days, with no specialization in single distances this season.
Stolz, who achieved two Olympic gold medals and a silver at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games, intends to replicate and extend his success by aiming for titles in both the Sprint and the Allround categories. This ambitious goal echoes the rare feat accomplished by Eric Heiden, the only skater to have won both titles in the same year, doing so consecutively from 1977 to 1979. However, the current combined format since 2020 adds complexity, requiring athletes to compete in two distances per day across four days.
The men’s Sprint competition is expected to see Stolz as the favorite, while defending Sprint champion Ning Zhongyan of China also presents a strong challenge. Other contenders include Damian Zurek from Poland and Dutch skaters Jenning de Boo and Joep Wennemars.
On the women’s side, the Sprint category has opened up following the season withdrawal of Jutta Leerdam, silver medalist at both 2022 and 2024 World Sprint Championships. Fellow Dutch skater Femke Kok, who won the Olympic 500m title and earned silver in the 1000m this season, is poised to contend for her first World Sprint crown. Rivals include Poland’s Kaja Ziomek-Nogal and U.S. skater Erin Jackson, both notable sprinters with strong performances in recent competitions.
The men’s Allround event will present a particular test for Stolz, who has not raced the 5000m or 10,000m distances internationally since his previous allround title in Inzell two years ago. Long-distance specialists such as Olympic champions Sander Eitrem (Norway) and Metoděj Jílek (Czech Republic), along with Vladimir Semirunniy (Poland), are expected to challenge Stolz in these events while also seeking overall titles themselves.
For the women’s Allround competition, defending champion Joy Beune from the Netherlands aims to improve on her Olympic results where she did not qualify for the 1500m and placed fourth in the 3000m. Competitors include Olympic medalists Miho Takagi (Japan), Francesca Lollobrigida (Italy), Antoinette Rijpma-De Jong (Netherlands), and Ragne Wiklund (Norway). Canadian Valérie Maltais is also considered a potential podium finisher. The event will additionally mark the final competition season for veteran Martina Sáblíková from the Czech Republic.
