US star forced to wait through rival Wennemars’s reskate
Stolz delivers 1:06.28 finish in his signature event
Jordan Stolz had to wait a little longer than expected on Wednesday night. But when confirmation finally came, the 21-year-old American could celebrate his first Olympic gold medal – and the opening chapter of what could become one of the defining campaigns of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
Skating in the second-to-last group, Stolz powered to an Olympic record time of 1min 6.28sec in the men’s 1000 metres, using a devastating final lap to deliver in his signature event and launch his pursuit of a potential four-gold haul across these Games.
His time ultimately stood after a brief period of uncertainty triggered by a late-race judging decision that granted a reskate to Joep Wennemars – who ended Stolz’s two-year world championship reign at the distance last March – after it was ruled that the Dutch skater had been hindered earlier in the competition. The delay forced Stolz, Jenning de Boo and the rest of the field to wait nearly 15 minutes for Wennemars to skate again .
