SPEED SKATING
USA’s Stolz wins excruciating 1500m in track-record time at ISU World Cup Calgary
25 Jan 2025
“I had a very bad headache, it was throbbing. It just felt like it was going to explode”, Jordan Stolz (USA) said after the men’s 1500m at the ISU World Cup series in Calgary, Canada, on Friday. Nonetheless, the American ace collected his 17th consecutive World Cup win with a track record time of 1 minute and 41.22s in the distance. Ning Zhongyan (CHN) and Peder Kongshaug (NOR) finished second and third, respectively.
More painful than anywhere else
The 1500m is one of the toughest distances in speed skating. It’s too long for a sprint, but short enough to go flat out from the start. Somewhere along the line, you’re going to crack. The fast Calgary track with its thin air at high altitude adds to the challenge, as all skaters crossed the line completely shattered.
Gold medalist Jordan Stolz of USA, flanked by China silver medalist Ning Zhongyan (left) and bronze medalist Peder Kongshaug of Norway (right). © ISU
“It's so much more painful [in Calgary] than anywhere else”, Peder Kongshaug (NOR) said. “It's altitude, but also that the air is pretty dry, so your lungs are just screaming and your head feels like it explodes. But yeah, I said to Ning [Ning Zhongyan, CHN], when we just sat there [after the race]: ‘Why are we doing this?’ ”
Kongshaug had “done” it for a bronze medal on Friday, and not only that, the Norwegian youngster also skated a national record in a time of 1 minute and 42.25s, beating the previous mark set by Sverre Lunde Pedersen (NOR) in Salt Lake City in 2019.
“The Norwegian record was on my bucket list, so I'm really satisfied,” Kongshaug said.
The now-retired Pedersen used to be Kongshaug’s roommate. “I called him the other day and told him I miss him. Now, I sit with my coffee in my room, watching Manchester United. We always watched together.”
Norway’s Peder Kongshaug, whose bronze-medal performance included a national record time of 1 minute and 42.25s in Men's 1,500m at ISU World Cup in Calgary. © ISU
Pedersen had not congratulated Kongshaug on his record yet: “He has small kids and he’s back in Norway, so I think he’s sleeping right now, but I reckon I’ll get a text message tomorrow.”
Last-race climax
Kongshaug set his time in the second-last pairing to go on top of the leaderboard. Olympic champion Kjeld Nuis (NED) came .84s short in the penultimate pairing and ended up in sixth place, but it all came down to the last pairing, with undefeated World Cup leader Jordan Stolz taking on second-ranked Ning.
“It’s a special feeling,” Ning said of his head-to-head meeting with Stolz. “Last night, when I saw the draw, my heart rate went up. I was a little nervous, but today I was very excited.”
In the race, Ning was able to keep up with Stolz quite well. Losing .39s in the opener, and another .37s in the first full lap, the Chinese star managed to skate a faster second full lap, keeping the gap at .53s at the 1200m split. In the final lap however, Stolz was exactly half a second faster to leave Ning 1.03s behind.
Jordan Stolz of USA sets a track record in Men’s 1,500m at the ISU World Cup series in Calgary, Canada. © ISU
“I had a really good opener in first lap, and then after that, I started blowing up a little”, Stolz said. “When I felt that, I just attacked the last lap as hard as I could, and it was actually pretty good.”
With his head throbbing, Stolz had to vomit after the race, before he was able to receive his gold medal.
Beating the track record was the icing on the cake.
“That track record had been there for a while, Denis Yuskov (RUS) had it [1:41.33 in 2017], so it was a tough one to beat,” Stolz said with a smile.
Despite finishing at 1.03s behind his American rival, Ning was happy with his race.
Ning Zhongyan of China powers to silver-medal finish in Men's 1,500m at the ISU World Cup series in Calgary, Canada. © ISU
“I was much faster than last year at the World Championships [when he finished fourth at the Olympic Oval in Calgary]. I could follow Jordan today and he was pretty fast. He’s a very good skater, so I feel it was a good race.”
Kongshaug agreed with Ning about Stolz being in a league of his own at the moment:
“He’s a generational talent, we’ve never seen anything like him. Me and everyone else, we just have to think about ourselves and hopefully we’ll get closer.
“He’s at a level now, that it's hard to imagine that he will go much faster, so we just have to catch up. Hopefully we'll get closer.”
Calgary program
The ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Calgary started with the women’s 5000m, the men’s 1500m and the women’s 1000m on Friday. The Saturday program comprises women‘s 1500m, the men’s 1000m, and the men’s 10,000m, while on Sunday both genders will compete in the 500m and the Mass Start, to conclude with the Team Sprint.
ISU World Cup Speed Skating Series events 2024/25:
Nov 22 - 24, 2024 Nagano / JPN
Nov 29 - Dec 01, 2024 Beijing / CHN
Jan 24 - 26, 2025 Calgary CAN
Jan 31 - Feb 02, 2025 Milwaukee / USA
Feb 21 - 23, 2025 Tomaszów Mazowiecki / POL
Feb 28 - Mar 02, 2025 Heerenveen / NED
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