MILAN – U.S. speedskating phenom Jordan Stolz is here at the Olympic Games to win gold medals.
His main rival so far has been Jenning de Boo, a young Dutch speedskater who focuses on sprint distances.
In the 1000m and the 500m races, Stolz skated head to head against de Boo in time trials, narrowly besting him both times. "I think [we're having] some pretty historic battles," Stolz said after winning the 500m on Feb. 14, "It's fun after the race, but during the race it's pretty tough and there's a lot of nerves."
De Boo returned the sentiment. "[Stolz] definitely motivates me. I hope I motivate him as well," he said, after the 500m race, "He's the man to beat right now and I'm doing my absolute best to beat him, but he's just crazy strong."
Stolz, 21, and de Boo, 22, are widely considered the two best sprinters in long track speedskating, now and maybe ever. While the pair compete fiercely, they've formed a mutual admiration club off the ice, praising each others' skills and style.
Bronze medal finisher Laurent Dubreuil, the 33-year-old Canadian sprinter who took third place in the 500m, was glad to make the podium. "I think those are the two best sprinters of all time. I'm just happy there's not three of them," Dubreuil said after the race, "As a skating fan, I can't wait to see them skate hopefully for many more years, but it makes it quite hard to get on the podium right now."
At the race
In the 500m event, Dubreuil skated the race of his life, completing one and a quarter laps around the track in 34.26 seconds. He set a new Olympic record, and held that honor briefly. Dubreuil mused that if he'd had that race four years ago, he probably would have earned a gold medal. Here in Milan, he knew the record would be short-lived.
Minutes later, Stolz and de Boo raced against each other, both skating even faster: Stolz came in 0.11 seconds ahead of de Boo, setting a new Olympic record of 33.77 seconds.
Dubreil says his competitors are built differently. "I'm not sure if I can beat those young guys anymore," he says. "They're just so good. Jenning's corners are unbelievable…he actually goes a bit faster than Jordan. But Jordan finishes so strong," Dubreuil says, "It's not something we can copy -- he's just physically superior to us."
Friendly competition
The two rivals shook hands and wished each other luck before the race, and traded compliments after.
Stolz had considered the 500m to be "a toss up" between the two: "It was going to be whoever gets a really clean race, between me and Jenning, and we both got it clean and I was able to win," he says.
Stolz appreciates his Dutch rival's skating style. "He has really good technique and he's really physically strong," Stolz said of de Boo, "He skates with a different style from the other guys and I like that."
De Boo admired Stolz's "discipline and medals," along with how he handles pressure. "He's been in a favorite role for a very long time, and he's been able to keep a steady pace and keep on winning. A lot of respect for that," de Boo says.
Both expect their rivalry to stay civilized. "I don't think there's going to be any trash talk – I don't think skating is a sport for that," de Boo says, "We're not fighting, we're speed skating."
Of course, de Boo added, he'd like to come in first, ahead of Stolz, "but I think he has the same feeling towards me as well."
De Boo leaves the Olympics with two silver medals. Stolz stays on for two more events – the 1500m on Thursday, and the Mass Start on Saturday.
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