MILAN — U.S. speedskater Jordan Stolz finished the men's 1,000 meters at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Wednesday with the fastest time, pending a re-skate for one entrant who was bumped during an earlier heat.

If Stolz's time stood up, he would earn the first gold of what he hopes will be a four-medal appearance at these Winter Games.

Skating in the next-to-last pairing at Milano Speed Skating Stadium, a temporary facility constructed for these Olympics that has been producing fast times so far, Stolz finished in 1 minute, 6.28 seconds.

The 21-year-old from Wisconsin didn’t threaten his world record of 1:05.37 but did establish an Olympic record, lowering the standard of 1:07.18 that had stood since 2002 — before Stolz was born. All four long track speedskating races in Milan have been won in the fastest times ever turned in at an Olympics.

Stolz’s medal was going to be his first at this level: As a 17-year-old at the 2022 Beijing Games, Stolz came in 14th in the 1,000 and 13th in the 500.

It also was the first medal of any sort in the men’s 1,000 for the United States since the 2010 Vancouver Games. That’s when Shani Davis — a mentor to Stolz — won his second consecutive gold in that event, and Chad Hedrick took the bronze. Dutch men had won the 1,000 at each of the past three Winter Games.

With Eric Heiden, the only speedskater to win five golds at one Olympics, sitting next to rapper Snoop Dogg in the stands, Stolz pulled ahead of Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands by the time one full lap was done. Then de Boo moved in front. But Stolz moved into the lead at the final corner and crossed first with his hands on his knees.

He soon was celebrating with an understated pump of his right hand.

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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

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