Jordan Stolz takes 1500m silver at Olympics behind Ning ZhongyanESPN News ServicesMultiple AuthorsFeb 19, 2026, 12:09 PM ET
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American speedskater Jordan Stolz’s bid for a third gold medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics came up short with a loss to China’s Ning Zhongyan in the 1,500 meters Thursday.
Ning won in an Olympic-record time of 1 minute, 41.98 seconds. Stolz, skating in the day’s last heat, finished 0.77 off the pace, adding a silver to the golds he claimed in the 500 and 1,000. The 21-year-old from Wisconsin will participate in his last race, the mass start, on Saturday.
Only two speedskaters have won at least four golds at one Games: Eric Heiden of the U.S. went home with five from the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics, and Lidiya Skoblikova, representing the Soviet Union, claimed four in 1964.
When Stolz finished and his time flashed on the arena’s videoboards, Ning began jumping up and down with other members of China’s team. He then grabbed a flag and wore it like a cape for a victory lap.
Stolz had entered the race as the odds-on favorite to win, closing at -500 to take the gold medal at DraftKings Sportbook. Ning was +250 to win.
Ning Zhongyan, center, set an Olympic record with three heats to go and then couldn’t be caught by American Jordan Stolz, left. Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty ImagesNing picked up his third medal at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, a temporary facility that has been producing swift times, after bronzes in the 1,000 and team pursuit. He won China’s third-ever gold medal in speedskating.Kjeld Nuis of the Netherlands, who won the 1,500 at the 2018 and 2022 Olympics and holds the world record, got the bronze Thursday, 0.07 behind Stolz.When healthy, Stolz essentially has been favored in every race he entered in recent years. He is a two-time world champion at 500, 1,000 and 1,500 and owns the world record in the 1,000.After setting Olympic records in the 500 and 1,000 — and becoming the only man other than Heiden to complete that double at a Games — Stolz had his sights set on becoming the first men’s speedskater to win a trio of golds at one Games since Norway’s Johann Olav Koss did it at the Lillehammer Olympics in 1994.Editor’s Picks
Dutch skater Irene Schouten won three women’s races at the Beijing Olympics four years ago.
Asked to sum up his trip to Italy heading into Thursday, Stolz mentioned: “It’s a success, but it’s more so of a partial success if I don’t win the 1500, just because I’ve been so good in that distance for so long. So I hope I can win that one.”
His first career Olympic golds had been anticipated, if not downright expected, by many before competition began in Milan.
“I think Jordan,” mentioned Canada’s Laurent Dubreuil, the bronze medalist behind Stolz in the 500, “is the greatest speedskater of all time.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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